Ashley Watson joined Panmure Liberum as an electronic equity trader following five years at Mirabaud Group. They announced their new role in a social media post. Most recently, Watson served as an equity trader at Mirabaud, responsible for executing equities and ETFs across both high and low touch. Prior to this, London-based Watson spent almost 13 years at Sanford C. Bernstein, also working as an equity trader.

UBS appointed Rhianna Andrew as an execution trader. She announced her appointment in a social media post. Before joining UBS, Andrew spent four years at Citi. Most recently, she served as cash equity trader, assistant vice president – a role she held for two years. Prior to that, Andrew served as a cash equity trader, analyst.

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From today, Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG has been deregistered from the Commercial Register of the Canton of Zurich and will no longer exist as a separate entity.

According to a statement, UBS Switzerland AG has succeeded all the rights and obligations of Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG.

Read more: UBS’ Credit Suisse takeover: what you need to know

The Swiss entities being merged allows for the migration of clients and operations from Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG to the UBS platform, following business, client- and product-specific requirements.

“The completion of the Swiss entities’ merger marks an important milestone in the integration of UBS and Credit Suisse. The migration of the majority of client transactions in Switzerland to the UBS platform will take place in 2025 and will be gradual, with tailored updates to our clients,” said Sabine Keller-Busse, president of UBS Switzerland.

“As the integration progresses, our clients will be able to access the capabilities and support of the combined firm. We will continue to focus on providing our clients with comprehensive services to achieve their financial goals and acting as a strong pillar of economic support in Switzerland.”

Read more: UBS agrees landmark takeover of Credit Suisse after intervention from Swiss authorities

Despite Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG clients becoming clients of UBS Switzerland AG as part of the merger, they will for an interim period interact with UBS using existing Credit Suisse platforms and tools, except as specifically communicated.

André Helfenstein, chief executive of Credit Suisse (Schweiz) AG, has decided to leave the bank following the merger.

”Since the acquisition of Credit Suisse by UBS, André has made a substantial contribution to the stabilisation of Credit Suisse’s business and has been committed to our clients and our employees throughout,” added Keller-Busse.

“We thank him for his commitment and dedication and wish him all the best and success in his next steps.”

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MEAG appointed Lydia Malakis head of institutional sales at MEAG. As part of the role, she will be responsible for MEAG’s institutional and wholesale sales. Before joining MEAG, Malakis held senior sales positions with international asset managers, including Generali Insurance, Vanguard International and Schroders.

Elsewhere, Alexander George assumed responsibility for institutional sales in Germany, Austria and Switzerland as head of institutional sales DACH. Before joining MEAG in 2021, George worked at the multi-family office Novethos and previously held positions at various banks and private banks.

Northern Trust Asset Management appointed Naoto Komoro to lead its asset management business in Japan. Komoro will also continue in his current role as head of institutional client group. He joined Northern Trust in 2007 and has since worked in senior roles across portfolio management, client management and sales. Before joining Northern Trust Asset Management, Komoro spent six years at Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. as a fund manager for the passive and quantitative investment management department.

Haitong Securities appointed Dipesh Sohani director of institutional equity sales. Sohani was promoted to the role after originally joining Haitong Securities in a senior institutional equity sales role in 2021. Elsewhere in his career, Sohani held positions at YES Securities, Edelweiss Financial Services, PhillipCapital and MF Global.

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Effective from 1 September, Salcedo will be based in New York, reporting to Dan Murphy, Americas head of franchise sales.

Salcedo joins UBS from Barclays, where he most recently served as head of Delta One sales for the Americas since 2009. As part of the role, he helped enhance Barclays’ custom baskets business.

In his new role, Salcedo will be responsible for the execution of UBS’ commercial strategy in the Americas.

“His remit will include a wide range of product offerings across the institutional and global family institutional wealth client base, including Synthetic Prime & Delta One,” said the memo.

Salcedo’s appointment follows that of Neil Hosie, who was appointed as global execution services head in a full-time capacity after joining UBS as part of its takeover of Credit Suisse last year. Hosie took up the role on an interim basis in March.

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Alex Livingstone, formerly head of trading for ETFs and FX at Titan Asset Management, joined Titan Investment Solutions as a junior portfolio manager and trader. In this position, he is set to assist Peter Doherty, head of fixed income and investment associate, Christopher Turdean in developing the fixed income trading. He will also be involved in the ongoing management of the Titan Hybrid Capital, Core Credit, and Short Duration IG income funds. Livingstone previously served as head of trading – FX and ETFs at Tavistock Investments.

IEX Group appointed John Palmer to lead its new markets segment as the business looks to drive expansion into new areas and grow its product suite. In the new role, Palmer will be tasked with leveraging IEX’s core system and technology to develop new markets, said the firm. Prior to this move, Palmer was president of Cboe Digital, overseeing the development of digital asset trading platforms and services. Previously, Palmer held numerous leadership positions at Cboe Global Markets, as well as its options and futures businesses. He has also worked for CrossTower and ISE Holdings as global head of product strategy and product management director, respectively. 

BTIG appointed Sean Shanker as a managing director within the electronic trading team, based in New York. In the role, Shanker will focus on driving new initiatives across the firm’s electronic and portfolio trading offering as well as leading key projects. Shanker has more than two decades of experience in the industry, having most recently served as head of product, Americas – equities at Citi. Across his career he has also served as director and senior trading strategist at Bank of America, Merrill Lynch.

Societe Generale moved to bolster its equity capital markets (ECM) offering in the US with the addition of three new individuals, according to an internal memo seen by The TRADE. Nicholas Cunningham was appointed as a senior banker in ECM. He will be focused on the industrial sector and financials sponsors. Elsewhere, Ashish Sanghrajka joined Soc Gen as senior banker in ECM, focused on healthcare and Thomas Feuerstein has relocated from the bank’s Parisian arm as senior banker in ECM focused on technology. In addition to his sector focus, Feuerstein will also work to enhance connectivity for the bank’s European clients into the US equity capital markets, the memo confirmed. David Getzler will remain in his current role as head of ECM US.

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Neil Hosie has been appointed as global execution services head in a full-time capacity after joining UBS as part of its takeover of Credit Suisse last year. He took up the role on an interim basis in March.

Hosie originally joined Credit Suisse in 2017 as its head of equities Asia Pacific, later assuming responsibility of the asset class for both Asia Pacific and EMEA and eventually taking up the role in a global capacity in 2023.

Previously in his career he served as head of equity trading for Asia Pacific at Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Bank Securities for two years and 13 years, respectively. He began his trading career at UBS in Hong Kong.

“Neil brings broad experience and global client connectivity across the execution services business having overseen and worked closely with distribution, financing, research and ECM,” said the memo.

Brent Johnson

He replaces retiring global head of execution services Brent Johnson, who has been with UBS for the last 26 years.

“He has been a highly valued member of the Global Markets management team, successfully leading Global Markets Execution Services since its formation in 2021,” said the memo.

Johnson joined UBS as chief financial officer and chief operating officer in 1997 and during his multi-decade tenure has served in several capacities at the bank including as head of South African equities, CEEMA equities, European cash trading execution, and cash equities for EMEA.

He took up the role of co-head of global markets execution and platform in 2019, later assuming his most recent role as global head of execution services in 2021.

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The new product utilises the on-chain issuance product framework offered by the bank’s in-house tokenisation service, UBS Tokenize, and is a call warrant with Xiaomi Corporation as the underlying stock.

“The introduction of the UBS tokenised warrant reinforces the bank’s position as the leading derivative products issuer in Hong Kong,” said Winni Cheuk, head of sales, APAC public distribution, UBS Global Markets.

“Created natively on a public blockchain in a permissioned environment, this innovative product enhances transparency, reduces transaction fees, streamlines settlement processes, and allows for more flexible trading hours.”

The tokenized warrants’ key benefits include increased accessibility through access to digital structured products, improved efficiency through the use of smart contracts, and better transparency through the use of blockchain technology.

“OSL is proud to be working with the team of blockchain and product experts at UBS. We are simulating the whole product life cycle of an equity-linked structured product token, from token mint, through simulated secondary market transactions, and finally to token burn at maturity,” said Patrick Pan, chairman and chief executive at OSL Group.

“Hong Kong’s regulated virtual asset landscape has just crossed another major milestone with this Investment grade tokenised financial product issuance.”

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Federated Hermes selected Imogen Hepsworth to join its trading desk as a junior credit trader. Hepsworth was appointed to the desk at the London-headquartered asset manager after spending the last four and a half years at MarketAxess in a facilitation trading role. She originally joined MarketAxess in 2019 as an operations analyst, moving into an analyst role in the fixed income venue’s Open Trading business a year later. In her most recent role as a facilitation trader covering London and the US, she serviced the institutional client base for platform trading all-to-all and credit.

UBS has chosen Aleksandar Ivanovic to succeed Suni Harford as president of asset management upon her departure, with the appointment effective from 1 March. Ivanovic has also been elected to the UBS group executive board alongside his appointment. He joined UBS back in 1992 and has worked across every business division since. Prior to this most recent appointment, was head of client coverage and head of the EMEA and Switzerland regions for asset management. Ivanovic has also previously held leadership roles at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. 

Vontobel Asset Management appointed ex-Credit Suisse senior executive, Andrew Jackson, as its new head of fixed income, replacing Simon Lue-Fong who is departing after three years in the role. A spokesperson told The TRADE that Jackson will oversee a team of 39 investment professionals in his new role. London-based Jackson was previously head of fixed income at Credit Suisse for almost two years, having served in the same role at Federated Hermes for five years prior to that. Previously in his career, Jackson spent 13 years at Cairn Capital, most recently serving as chief investment officer. 

Citi created two new equities roles, appointing from within, in a bid to drive its equity business strategy and “cement the gains made in the derivatives business,” according to an internal memo seen by The TRADE. Robert Smolen was named head of exotics trading, having previously served as head of EMEA equity exotics and global hybrids trading following his move from JP Morgan in 2017. The second appointment was that of Yohann Freoa as head of index flow trading – effectively expanding his remit to cover all clusters, having previously served as European head of flow trading. Prior to Citi, Freoa held senior positions at both JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs.

JP Morgan appointed Oliver Hall vice president, futures and options (F&O) hybrid sales trader. Hall was promoted to the role after serving at the bank for nearly 6 and a half years, most recently as associate, F&O electronic sales trader, in Frankfurt, a role he has held for the last two years. Prior to that, Hall held the same role, based out of London. This followed an 11-month stint as associate, clearing client service manager – also based in London. Before joining JP Morgan, Hall held analyst roles at Rothschild and Barclays Corporate Banking. Elsewhere in his career, Hall served as an intern at BNP Paribas, Morgan Stanley and Rothschild.

Omar Darwish joined fintech pioneer GTN as equity sales trader following a three-and-a-half-year stint at Arqaam Capital. His appointment comes as GTN continues its expansion efforts to build a comprehensive electronic trading and investment platform. Prior to his appointment as equity sales trader at Arqaam Capital in 2020, Darwish was director at Beltone Financial and before that worked as VP sales trader at Renaissance Capital. UAE-based Darwish has also worked as sales trader at investment banks Credit Suisse and Commercial International Bank (CIB). 

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Aleksandar Ivanovic

UBS has chosen Aleksandar Ivanovic to succeed Suni Harford as president of asset management upon her departure, with the appointment effective from 1 March.

Ivanovic has also been elected to the UBS group executive board alongside his appointment.

Sergio Ermotti, chief executive of UBS, asserted: “I’m delighted to welcome Aleksandar Ivanovic to the UBS Group Executive Board. His extensive experience and broad network across the firm make him the ideal person to build on our strong foundation and progress our integration plans. 

“[…] I’d also like to thank Suni Harford for her leadership and commitment to UBS and for the significant contribution she has made to our success. I wish her all the best for the future.”

Ivanovic joined UBS back in 1992 and has worked across every business division since. Prior to this most recent appointment, was head of client coverage and head of the EMEA and Switzerland regions for asset management.

Ivanovic has also previously held leadership roles at Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley. 

Departing Harford was president of asset management since 2019, which included leading the integration of Credit Suisse’s asset management activities following the high profile acquisition.

In an announcement, UBS stated that Harford had “spearheaded UBS’s efforts to align [our] activities across the entire firm”.

Read more: UBS agrees landmark takeover of Credit Suisse after intervention from Swiss authorities

Alongside Harford’s departure, Beatriz Martin Jimenez has been named lead for sustainability and impact, taking over the responsibility, also effective 1 March 2024. Martin Jimenez is currently head of non-core and legacy and president EMEA and UK chief executive. 

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The intensification of financial regulation is a fundamental trend transforming the asset management ecosystem. The planned transition to T+1 settlement in 2024 and the forthcoming revision of Mifid II are poignant examples of this. These developments highlight how regulations, even when specific to a market like the United States or the European Union, can have global repercussions, compelling actors to revise their operations to remain competitive and compliant. 

Beyond T+1 and Mifid II, the overall increase in regulatory requirements presents significant organisational and technological challenges. Players must adapt quickly, investing in advanced systems and enhancing team skills to manage increasingly complex and interconnected processes. This regulatory pressure highlights the issue of critical size. Smaller entities might find it challenging to sustain the financial and operational weight of these demands, potentially catalysing consolidations, strategic partnerships, or outsourcing initiatives for specific functions. 

All these factors create an environment where flexibility and innovation are paramount. Asset managers need to respond not just to current challenges but also anticipate future regulatory developments, requiring a long-term strategic vision and continuous adaptability.

Vikesh Patel, President at Cboe Clear Europe 

Repeated efforts by incumbent exchanges to restrict clearing competition in equities will be a dominant theme of Europe’s post-trade environment in 2024. We could see pressure being exerted to remove interoperability arrangements, as well as undermine the open access provisions that sit at the heart of Mifir – moves that would drastically impede competition. 

The benefits of competitive clearing are recognised and undisputed across the industry – from driving innovation to reducing costs, enhancing service levels, increasing transparency and accountability, and so on. Market participants have clearly been voicing their desire for competitive clearing. We also expect to see a heightened demand for the pan-European clearing model, which we pioneered in cash equities, in other asset classes. In terms of regulation, we believe focus will intensify around settlement efficiencies, anticipating challenges in aligning US and global settlement cycles. Meanwhile, the EU’s CSDR Refit, expected to be implemented next year, could impose buy-ins on UK participants, adding another layer of cost on market participants.   

Natan Tiefenbrun, president, North American and European equities, Cboe Global Markets 

2024 will be the year that the rubber hits the road for the EU’s Mifir review, as the political framework agreed in 2023 is transformed into implementable rules by ESMA. While the EU has agreed to a real-time pre- and post-trade consolidated tape (CT) for equities – the devil will be in the detail. ESMA has important decisions to make including what constitutes ‘real-time’, the workings of the selection and authorisation process (which will determine the governance and pricing to consumers), and the revenue sharing model for data contributors. Thus far, the only declared bidder is the consortia of exchanges that fought the introduction of the CT and tried to undermine its viability, so ESMA needs to encourage additional bidders. To meet consumers’ long-term needs, including for reasonably priced consolidated market data, ESMA must attract and select a provider committed to the speedy delivery and enabling broad adoption of the CT, and to a governance framework that gives consumers a voice. 

The UK’s plans for an equities tape will also become clear: the FCA recently noted overwhelming market support for it to be more ambitious than the EU’s plans, including attributed quotes, and legislation currently before the UK parliament will give the FCA powers to launch a tender process.  Another big theme will be the importance of the retail investor, and how European capital markets can grow by better serving this community. Investor protection measures such as the EU-wide ban on payment for order flow (enforced from 2026) and restrictions on CFD trading may re-shape how retail brokers handle their customer order flow, and what products they make available for trading. It is against this backdrop that Cboe launched single stock options trading on Cboe Europe Derivatives and is enhancing its proposition to retail brokers.

Stuart Lawrence, head of UK equity trading, UBS 
   
This year was a volatile year as markets adjusted to the new “normals” of the central bank policies and dealt with the continued impact of a poor liquidity landscape and ongoing geopolitical events. While the former is now better understood – with the market pricing in potential interest rate cuts next year – the others remain unknowns. 

Next year will bring us the move to T+1 in the US which has knock-on effects for the rest of world. We should gain more clarity on the timing of the UK and EU moves to T+1 settlement, and whether they will move in tandem or not. We feel that the sooner settlement dates are aligned globally the better. 

The discussion around rebundling of payments for research will continue, and we should expect consultation papers from the UK regulator to appear in Q1 and the EU later in the year. If agreed, legislative change could follow soon afterwards. General consensus is that this change will occur but it is important for us to see the details before we can assess the impact. Finally, we await the Mifid II reviews from both the EU and UK which may come next year unless there are setbacks. The details within them will improve clarity on the regulatory landscape for the future. 

Stanislav Ermilov, chief executive, Tallarium 

Emir Refit, which goes live in the EU from April, will undoubtably be an area of significant focus for participants trading over the counter (OTC) derivatives markets. To meet the spirit of the revised rules, which aim to increase harmonisation and standardisation, firms will need to put a renewed focus on data quality. While the rules are geared to simplifying reporting requirements for the post-trade, there is still a need to lay solid pre-trade data foundations for successful compliance. Having a single source of data can allow for much greater cohesion between the front- and back-office with a view to minimise risk – as it helps ensure there is a full audit trail.    

Ultimately, these trading, compliance, and operational challenges that Emir Refit shines a light on can only be overcome fully if firms have the exact same data sets across the front-, middle- and back-office. Currently, a huge amount of resource goes into collating data and verifying that data. Following that, a substantial amount of company time goes into constructing a reliable market picture, where each company replicates the exact same process in-house. This is done based on a combination of multiple sources, raw data, company front office excel and whatever other sources they can obtain. 

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