Barclays Reinforces Equities Unit With Tranche of New Hires

Barclays Plc is looking to make a move in the equities space, spearheaded by Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley. The UK investment bank has brought in a team of equity analysts from Societe Generale SA, totaling six individuals in a bid to help rekindle the group’s stocks unit.
The new hires from Societe Generale include Warren Ackerman, who will be installed as Barclays’ Head of European Consumer Equity Research, as well as Michael Sanderson, who will serve as Barclays’s co-Head of Diversified Financial Research, per a Bloomberg report.
The exodus will also see four other analysts join Barclays from Societe Generale. This includes Laurence Whyatt, Arthur Reeves, Iain Simpson, and Erwann Dagorne. Mr. Staley has been at the forefront of a for the past few years. The new tranche of hires follows on the heels of a recent string of appointees, numbering upwards of 50 equity traders and analysts since 2017.

The underlying goal of the hires is to help boost Barclays’ lagging stocks unit. Furthermore, the timing of the move can also be attributed to the recent MiFID II regulations, which came into effect earlier this year in January. The passage of the new regulation has worked as a direct impetus for the hires, which has shown no signs of slowing down.
Indeed, “These hires underline the positive reinvestment in our equities business and our ability to attract top talent,” explained Rupert Jones, Barclays’ Head of European equity research in a statement by the lender.
MiFID II prompting new strategy
MiFID II has been a driving factor behind  in the research sector. One of the primary new requisites of the regulation has been the publication of all research costs, which has resulted in many lenders and venues scaling back costs.
In these lean times, the days of lofty research spending has been the first casualty in what many portended as a dramatic shift in research spending. For Barclays’ part, they have charted a different course, opting to become more specialized and larger in their research capabilities, an objective that looks to be on its way to being fulfilled via the new string of hires.