MiFID II may have reduced spending on equity research by 25% and counting, according to Daniel Pinto, head of J.P. Morgan’s corporate and investment bank, but some places are still hiring new equity researchers. They include Berenberg, the privately-owned German bank which plans to add 100 people in London over the next two years.
Berenberg just recruited Tom Burlton, a former top ranked analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London. Burlton joins as a ‘senior equity analyst,’ although it’s not clear which sector he will cover at Berenberg. At BAML, he was a top-ranked analyst who most recently covered the European technology sector.
Headhunters said Burlton was let go by BAML in April, along with Inês Duarte Silva, a medical technology analyst. Duarte Silva immediately found a new role on the buy-side at Schroders. The rapid re-hiring of Burlton too suggests the equity research job market isn’t as moribund as might be supposed.
Pinto said yesterday that J.P. Morgan hasn’t cut equity research headcount since the introduction of MiFID II because he wants to see a few more quarters of client behaviour before right-sizing the department. Although equity research spending has already fallen by a quarter, Pinto is predicting “another leg down” as clients settle into the new regime. Early indications are that they’re cutting back on research, but more than usually willing to pay to attend conferences where they can get analysts’ views in person, he added.
Last year, Berenberg hired 22 researchers in London. Despite rumours of comparatively low pay, the German bank has already hired 10 new people in New York this year, bringing its total U.S. headcount to 60 (up from 50). The New York office has space for up to 150 people and is expected to hire further.
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