Merrill Lynch has reorganized its U.S. fixed-income credit research group, further combining high-grade and high-yield, and creating a flat reporting structure beneath Clare Schiedermayer, who was promoted from global head of high-yield credit research to manager, credit research-Americas. Bill Reed, managing director and co-head of investment-grade research, has been let go as a result of the changes. Schiedermayer would not discuss Reed, but says the changes were an extension of those made last year to address credit convergence between high-grade and high-yield (BW, 5/28).
Reed, who was at Merrill for five years, was a 2001 Institutional Investor All-America Fixed-Income team runner-up for his coverage of the basic industries sector. Reed declined comment when reached at his home, though a message left on his voice mail at Merrill says, "I've decided to leave Merrill Lynch and look for other opportunities."
One former Merrill analyst, now at a rival firm, says the changes were long overdue, as the firm's fixed-income research group had a complicated and confusing management structure. Jay Weintraub, former co-head of investment-grade research with Reed, and Ken Goldberg, former head of U.S. high-yield research, will stay on as analysts, according to Schiedermayer.
Under the new structure, four analysts assume additional coverage in order to cover an entire industry from high-yield to high-grade. Several other sectors will still retain two analysts, who will be responsible for either high-yield or high-grade names as had previously been the case, according to Schiedermayer.