HEDGE FUNDS: THE NEXT I-BANKS

In the wreckage that is the investment banking industry there appear to be some brave vultures swooping in to pick up the valuable left overs.  Hedge funds have been landing former investment banking talent left and right since the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and the apparent synergy issues at Merrill and Bank of America.  FIN Alternatives reports:

Just last week, Citadel announced it was getting into the investment banking business with the addition of three senior bankers to help launch its new division. Todd Kaplan, who joined Citadel in March, has assumed the role of head of investment banking for Citadel Securities, reporting to Rohit DSouza, CEO of Citadel Securities. Kaplan previously held senior management positions at Merrill Lynch, including head of global leveraged finance, capital markets & financing, global principal investments and corporate finance.

Fellow Merrill alumni Brian Maier and Carl Mayer have also joined Citadel as head of industry groups and head of leveraged finance, respectively. Both will report to Kaplan.

D’Souza said in a statement that the new unit is part of an effort to form a “leading, fully integrated, client-facing franchise across investment banking and institutional sales and trading.”

Apparently Griffin is diversifying his business after last year’s disastrous 40% decline.  Probably a good idea if he’s planning to take the company public in the next few years.  For those investors eager to buy into this near certain IPO I present you with Fortress and BlackStone stock performance since IPO:

Cullen Roche

Mr. Roche is the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of Discipline Funds.Discipline Funds is a low fee financial advisory firm with a focus on helping people be more disciplined with their finances.

He is also the author of Pragmatic Capitalism: What Every Investor Needs to Understand About Money and Finance, Understanding the Modern Monetary System and Understanding Modern Portfolio Construction.