J.P. Morgan made a big equity derivatives hire from Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs' equity derivatives business seems to be losing staff. Earlier this year, Citi hired Quentin Andre and Dirk Keijer from Goldman for its equity derivatives sales operation in EMEA. Now J.P. Morgan has poached Jason Cuttler, the former global head of Goldman's tactical equity derivative strategy team.

Cuttler joined JPM in New York as an MD in the global equity derivatives team last month. He quit Goldman in April and spent six months on gardening leave, suggesting he was poached for his new role.

J.P. Morgan and Citi aren't the only banks strengthening their equity derivatives businesses this year. Deutsche Bank hired James Boyle from Citi as global head of its equity derivatives business in April, and Nomura hired Credit Suisse's ex-head of equity derivatives earlier in August.

Equity derivatives headhunters deny that they're working in a growth area, however. "Equity derivatives sales teams in Europe have been shrinking as banks amalgamate their flow and structured teams," says one London-based headhunter, speaking off the record. There's more demand for structured solutions professionals, he says, but they increasingly need to be able to structure across assets, in equities and fixed income.

Nonetheless, he says banks like Citi are building out their equity derivatives teams and that firms like Goldman are a target for their hires. "If you've worked as a structurer covering institutional accounts at Goldman Sachs you're going to be very employable at somewhere like a Deutsche, a Citi, or an HSBC."

Contact: SButcher@eFinancialCareers.com

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