The Clinton Group, a New York-based hedge fund, has hired Robert Smalley, a banking analyst and head of corporate bond research at HSBC Securities, according to an official at HSBC. Smalley could not be reached. Thomas Schnepp, head of global fixed-income arbitrage at the Clinton Group, referred calls to Patrick O' Meara, a firm spokesman, who did not return calls.
Smalley's reason for leaving HSBC could not be determined, though he had been rumored to be seeking a position outside the firm for several weeks. The U.S. investment banking arm of the British bank has suffered sizeable trading losses on its corporate and Treasury desks, and lost a number of senior executives in recent months (BW, 5/5, 5/12, 6/9, 7/28). The firm also released its former president, John Griff, and its head of fixed-income, Ferdie Masucci (BW, 8/8).
Richard Bertoni, a senior HSBC executive to whom Smalley was said to report, did not return calls.