J.P. Morgan Securities has hired Howard Rothberg. He joins from Morgan Stanley, where he was an executive director and investment-grade salesman with large accounts such as ING Investment Management and BlackRock Financial Management, according to people with knowledge of the situation. He will report to Bryan Weadock, investment-grade sales head. Rothberg could not be reached, and Weadock declined comment.
Rothberg will likely be replaced internally at Morgan Stanley, according to a person with knowledge of the firm's staffing situation. John Robinson, another veteran salesman, had shared coverage with Rothberg on BlackRock and will fly solo for the time being, the person said. A call to him was not returned. The ING assignment has not yet been determined, according to this insider. Mike Donoghue, co-head of credit sales at Morgan Stanley, declined comment.
J.P. Morgan has had a fair amount of turnover in its high-grade business recently, along with senior management changes (BW, 4/27, 5/11). The firm lost at least one senior high-grade salesman earlier in the year: Bill Burke, who reportedly earned $2 million a year, to upstart FTN Financial.