Barclays has appointed a new executive team to lead the bank's client strategy and distribution of cross-asset solutions following the consolidation of its equity derivatives and investor solutions business, according to a memo seen by SRP.
Going forward, the bank's investor solutions, equity and funds structured (EFS) distribution and certain structured product sales groups will be combined and renamed EFS sales. With these changes Barclays is aiming at having a focused coverage of both its retail and institutional clients on both sides of the bank's balance sheet.
The UK bank said the new unified team will fit into the EFS three-pillar model to ensure a better alignment in offering solutions to its clients. The first pillar, the bank's non-linear derivative solutions for investor clients, including asset managers, insurers, private banks and other financial intermediaries, will incorporate Barclays' structured notes, principal protected products, equity and hybrid structured options and credit solutions businesses.
Corinne Grain will have global responsibility for sales for this part of the business, and will work with Omar Gzouli, as head of trading, to implement a strategy from origination to distribution. In her role, Grain will report to the bank's head of equities distribution, Mike Di Iorio, and remains a member of the EFS executive committee and the equities sales management committee.
In addition to her global EFS sales responsibilities, Grain has been appointed head of EFS sales, EMEA, with responsibility for the overall strategy for the distribution of the full suite of EFS products through the bank's sales teams in the region. In this role, Grain will work with Barclays' European country heads and Matteo Ferrario, head of EMEA solutions distribution.
Equities distribution
As part of the European build-up of the bank's equities division, Barclays has appointed Makram Fares, former co-head of European equity sales and equity derivatives at Nomura in London, as co-head of European equities distribution. Fares will work alongside Will Tovey. They both replace Grain who led the bank's equities distribution in Emea.
Also based in London, Fares will report to Jonathan Beebe, head of equities, EMEA, and head of equities trading, and Di Iorio. She will also join the European equities management committee and the global equities sales management team, as well as the EMEA client management committee.
Tovey and Fares will be jointly responsible for creating a client strategy across the full suite of equity liquid products, with Fares focusing on strengthening the bank's liquid non-cash product set. In his new role, Fares will be responsible for the flow derivatives, convertible bonds, futures and options execution, equity finance and synthetic sales teams which will report to him.
Fares will also work with Grain and Tovey to coordinate the sale of EFS products to the broader equities client base.
Tovey will continue to lead the bank's cash sales teams and will now also be directly responsible for the European-based teams selling US, Asia-Pacific and emerging Europe cash products, as well as the prime origination team in Europe.
Fares joins from hedge fund brokerage StoneHedge Partners, which he left in June, according to the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) register. Prior to that he was co-head of equity sales for EMEA, alongside Mark Rutherford between 2010 and 2012; and was also co-head of equity derivatives, sharing the role with Steven Downey at the Japanese bank.
Fares joined the Japanese bank from UBS, where was head of European equity derivatives distribution. Before joining UBS, Fares had been at Lehman Brothers since 2004, with initial responsibility for hedge fund sales and then for all flow sales and sales trading in Europe.
A Barclays spokesperson confirmed the contents of the memo.
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