What do you know about Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman? Yes, he used to work for McKinsey & Co. Yes, he makes a mean PowerPoint Presentation. Yes, he lives modestly and has a daughter, Caroline Gorman, who wants to be a rockstar. But what else? Who is the CEO of Morgan Stanley really?
The New York Times has answered this question in abundance. In a huge Gorman-eulogy published yesterday, it revealed that James Gorman doesn’t like to be referred to as a McKinsey Consultant (he is ‘is quick to note that he has spent more time on Wall Street than he did at McKinsey.’). The NYT divulged that James Gorman is not warmly expressive (“If you’re looking for regular affirmation, it’s going to be a lonely existence,” says one ‘longtime Wall Streeter.’). It said that James Gorman is modest (when he interviewed at Morgan Stanley he made no mention of wanting to be CEO). It explained that James Gorman has bad news to deliver he clears his throat a lot such that ‘throat clearing’ has now entered the Morgan Stanley lexicon as a synonym for something bad. It seems that James Gorman will never invite you over to his house to enjoy a ‘keg’ (“He doesn’t care about that kind of stuff.”). And James Gorman once did a funny thing (‘When the head of equity trading, Ted Pick, was late for meetings several times recently, Mr. Gorman put his chair in the corner, prompting a laugh from the group.’)
Separately, you might be wondering how to get a new job at this new hedge fund that Blackstone’s setting up. Firstly, you need to know that it won’t actually be Blackstone’s hedge fund per se – Blackstone is reportedly setting up a ‘condominium structure’ whereby ‘talented risk takers’ will operate their own companies within Blackstone’s infrastructure. How do you get into Blackstone’s condominium? It’s all about trading ideas. The Financial Times reports that Parag Pande, who joined Blackstone from Ziff Brothers as head of research a few months ago, will be managing the new edifice. If you want to get in, you’ll need to come with a team and to pitch Pande with your trading ideas. He’ll be hiring the teams whose ideas he likes the best.
Meanwhile
“You’re going to see cutbacks in the trading businesses, particularly in fixed icome but an awful lot of the cutbacks have been at this point. If you’re an investment banker you don’t have a thing to worry about – M&A is doing well, equity capital markets are doing well.” (Bloomberg)
Barclays just hired another US investment banker from Bank of America. (DealBook)
“When people think Birmingham, they think maybe it is a remote floor with 20 sales people in a room. We’re moving into this new trading floor soon with 270 seats on the floor. It is basically a mini fully integrated investment bank.” (WSJ)
The head of global sales trading at RenCap is leaving after more than a decade. (Bloomberg)
The Bank of France says BNP Paribas will be fine despite the $9bn fine and ban on some dollar clearing activities. (Bloomberg)
Are the lights going out in Barclays’ investment bank? (Forbes)
Investec increased CEO’s bonus 30%. (Bloomberg)
You’ll need to be a solitary self-disciplined sort if you want to succeed at the CFA. (300Hours)
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Disaster for bonuses in Barclays’ equities business. Hedge fund man drops out to become artist
Ex-Barclays traders shine light on bank’s murky waters. Early predictions for 2015 bonuses