J.P. Morgan Securities has promoted two high-yield analysts,Doug Conn and David Walker, to be co-heads of high yield research. Conn says the two fill a post vacated by Steven Ruggiero, who left for UBS Warburg a few weeks ago.
Conn joined J.P. Morgan in February as head of high-yield telecom from Morgan Stanley Dean Witter. He will continue in that capacity, and says he has no plans to make additional hires in that group. Walker, an Institutional Investor-ranked broadcasting and publishing analyst, joined J.P. Morgan in March 1999, having spent 11 years at Toronto-Dominion Securities. Walker, who also covers cable and satellite television, says there will be no strict division of responsibility between him and Conn. Both report to Peter Schmidt-Fellner, co-head of high yield, who was unavailable for comment.