Andreessen Horowitz hires Margit Wennmachers, co-founder of tech PR firm OutCast Communications, as its third partner [NY Times] Software-focused PE firm Symphony Technology Group hires Langone from Redwood Capital Group as VP-business development [Symphony Technology, via BW] RBC Capital Markets hires Nomura's Fothergill as head of European equities [RBC] Wesleyan University endowment hires Martin from Yale Investments Office as CIO. She's also a former member of U.S. Olympic rowing team [Wesleya... Read more

Millennium Management hires Cho, a former Lehman vice chairman, as Asia chairman and promotes Lee to head of Asian capital markets [Millenium, via BW] Edward Jones fires Chief Strategist Alan Skrainka, citing plagiaraism. Canada strategist Warne is filling in on interim basis [Registered Rep] WealthEngine hires Ronald F. Smith as CFO [WealthEngine] BNY Mellon Shareowner Services hires Wells Fargo's Kaufman as manager of transfer agent services for central U.S., based in Minneapolis [BNY... Read more

Nomura reportedly hires Sangimino from Citigroup to lead U.S. equity sales trading; also said to hire tech-stock trader Peta from UBS and several equity traders from Barclays [Bloomberg News] JPMorgan Treasury Services hires former Citigroup director Wuscher as Asia Pacific segment head [JPMorgan Chase] Standard Chartered hires Stone as head of global cash equities sales trading in Hong Kong, Kook as head of cash equities in Korea [Finance Asia] SSgA will elevate Blake... Read more

Barclays Capital has turned its sights to Australia. The London-based bank, after dramatically expanding its footprint in the U.S. in recent years, is launching launching a new foreign exchange and interest-rate trading business based in Sydney. Barclays has already hired or moved 15 people to Sydney, where its headcount has climbed to 100 from 40 over the past 12 months, according to The Wall Street Journal. Barclays's expansion in Australia is part... Read more

It's not just any old corporate treasury job: Google has openings for bond traders and analysts to achieve excess returns from the Internet giant's vast cash holdings. While it's routine for financial firms to hire technology whizzes, a high-tech firm advertising for traders is noteworthy. Especially when it's Google, which consistently tops the favorite-employer surveys for both new MBAs and new Ph.D holders. Postings on Google's careers site include trader of foreign... Read more

Large banks' heightened focus on reputational risk is shrinking your chance of getting a big pay bump by switching employers. Newly attentive to their public image, institutions are "leveling" differences among compensation packages across the industry, says Paul DeLucia, a partner at Options Group, a global executive search and consulting firm focused on the financial industry. "Many firms are making very similar measures" in how they structure compensation, De Lucia observes.... Read more

About 100 employees of Morgan Stanley Investment Management are moving to State Street Corp. as part of a deal under which the Boston-based financial firm will provide investment management services for some $300 billion in assets. State Street will provide MSIM with global outsourcing services including trade settlement, portfolio administration and reporting and reconciliation services for a majority of MSIM’s assets under management.   Most of the workers involved are in the... Read more

If you're tired of being caricatured as a fat-cat "executive" just because you work for a big-name financial institution in any capacity, relief is here. BusinessWeek just acknowledged that life is tough for financial services workers, too – even admitting that "big payouts are the exception, not the rule." The magazine portrays some Wall Street employees sympathetically – a rarity in mainstream media accounts since taxpayer-funded bailouts began more than a... Read more

The severity of the recession and the credit market freeze have financial services companies slicing the number of employees they send overseas. "In the current environment there's a volume reduction and a reduction in the scope and generosity of the benefits being provided," says Scott Sullivan, executive vice president of Brookfield Global Relocation Services, the Woodridge, Ill., firm whose recently released survey included the findings. The magnitude of the change is so... Read more

As we enter the recession's 18th month, some staffing companies have begun urging clients to develop HR and recruiting plans to use as the economy begins clawing its way back . Because knowing what recruiters recommend can help give job-seekers an edge, we noticed a press release from Robert Half Management Resources, which included Executive Director Paul McDonald's suggestion companies analyze their business to make sure they’re recovery-ready. Here’s his... Read more

Crain's New York Business argues Wall Street job losses have been exaggerated. Citing recent data from the New York Department of Labor, the newspaper says only 19,000 financial services jobs have disappeared from the Big Apple since August 2008. Sure, three of the five largest investment banks are gone, and Citigroup and AIG are now wards of the state. And yes, there has been severe contraction, including painful job cuts, especially... Read more

Maybe it's been a tough year, but there are signs Wall Street might soon get back to its old pay practices. At least the New York Times thinks so. Sunday's paper says six big banks set aside $36 billion in the first quarter for employee compensation. "If that pace continues all year, the money set aside for compensation suggests that workers at many banks will see their pay - much of... Read more

First came asset write-downs. Then came bailouts. Now, the U.S. government is taking a large, voting equity stake in Citigroup. The chain of events pulling significant pillars of the financial industry from shareholder to government control is coming to look increasingly inexorable. But what does nationalizing a bank do to the careers and compensation outlooks of professionals who work there? Constrained upside will drive producers and senior executives to seek... Read more

The devolution of UBS's investment bank continues. UBS AG's second ouster of a group chief executive in less than two years could soon be followed by top-level change within the investment banking unit, the New York Post reports Friday. Unnamed sources told the Post that "a mutiny is brewing" within the investment bank, aimed at its head, Jerker Johansson. For its part, UBS has denied rumors that Johansson is leaving, the... Read more

State Street Corp., long one of Boston's most stable financial employers, has been cutting staff as the economy faltered. Now it's facing further trouble after a string of write-downs erased most of its profit in the fourth quarter and the bank disclosed an additional $9.1 billion in unrealized losses on various investments. Some analysts expect State Street to raise additional capital. This explains why it's looking to cut costs including personnel.... Read more

State Street Corp. became the latest in a string of Boston-based institutions to announce layoffs. The global custody bank and asset management firm is eliminating 1,600 to 1,800 positions, or about 6 percent of its global workforce. About two-thirds of the cuts will occur within North America. Most will take place by March 2009. "In order to maintain customer service, the reductions will largely be achieved by consolidating middle and... Read more