The wave of departures from Morgan Stanley’s credit trading team has now extended from London to New York, with Jeff Qiu, the bank’s head of US macro credit trading, resigning to join hedge fund Garda Capital Partners, according to a report by eFinancial Careers.
Qiu’s exit follows a string of recent departures, including Herbert Filho, the bank’s head of European credit trading and research, who left last week to join Jain Global. While Filho was considered a close ally of Global Head of Credit Trading Rehan Latif, hedge fund compensation appears to have been the stronger draw.
While the reasons for Qiu’s departure remain unclear, there has been speculation that Morgan Stanley’s recent bonus payouts were underwhelming. In London, some insiders have expressed frustration over what they see as arbitrary compensation decisions tied to Latif’s preferences. Others, however, dispute these claims.
Regardless of bonus gripes, Qiu likely found the lucrative hedge fund pay packages too good to pass up. Macro traders can earn a percentage of the profits they generate, a model that typically far exceeds bank compensation.
