Nicholas Bravard, Goldman Sachs' London-based head of European high-yield trading, has left the firm. Bravard was long-rumored to be one of the London junk market's more highly compensated traders. "He's known to be the biggest guy in the market," says a head of high-yield trading at a rival sell-sider. When told that Bravard had left Goldman, the trader quipped: "Now it makes sense why we're doing so much more business lately." Bravard's next destination could not be determined and he could not be reached for comment. Rebecca Nelson, a Goldman spokeswoman, said she did not know the reason for Bravard's departure, and that his replacement has not been named. London-based European high-yield traders say their Goldman counterparts told them Bravard had retired. This was met with some skepticism: "That's ridiculous. He's only 36," says one.
Bravard was described by another market player as being an aggressive trader who was known for providing a lot of liquidity. He adds that two years ago, when high-yield was a fledgling asset class in Europe, many banks were hiring American and Canadian traders, because European traders did not have the experience or credit skills to deal in high-yield. "At the time, banks were writing big contracts with big guarantees," to lure traders to London, he says. Bravard was part of that migration and Goldman built up his reputation as a big dealer to justify the salary, he added.
Bravard started his career at Morgan Stanley as a junior trader, was then recruited by Merrill Lynch and, finally Goldman, according to an industry official. Traders at rival firms speculate Bravard's departure was related to bad trades. "He was running a lot of risk and traditionally Goldman traders get it right," says one. "Very few houses made money last year. It's a crappy market," says another.
Generally, Bravard's departure has not impacted the European high-yield market. "No one player makes a difference. It's not like [Goldman's] going to stop trading," says a rival trader.