Morgan Stanley has hired Michael Garrity, a high-yield services analyst from Putnam Investments. He will report to Bill Reiland, head of North American credit research at Morgan Stanley. Garrity will fill a position vacated by Bob Packer, who has moved internally to the integrated credit group--which monitors and forecasts credit ratings for prospective issuers. Reiland says Morgan Stanley vetted the hire through Putnam before making Garrity a formal offer. The analyst will make the move to New York next month.
Garrity is winding up a three-year stint as an investment associate at Putnam, according to Steve Peacher, cio of the Boston firm's credit team. Peacher says investment associates ideally go off to business school and rejoin Putnam when they have completed their three-year stint. However, he says Garrity wanted to go straight to Wall Street, and Morgan Stanley was interested, so he gave the move his blessing. In addition to being Putnam's lead analyst following services companies such as Allied Waste and Waste Management, Garrity covered the gaming sector. "His practical seniority was higher than the title implies," says Peacher, who says a new investment associate will come along to fill Garrity's slot this summer.