BofA Grows Equity Research Platform
In an interview with IDD, firm's head of equity research discusses division expansion.
July 16, 2008
Bank of America heeded investor demand by hiring nine additional analysts for its equity research division, the firm's head of equity research, Michael Rietbrock, told IDD.
The nine analysts are based in New York and join from a variety of firms--Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, Jefferies & Co. and Israeli player Hapoalim Securities.
The following is a list of BofA's new equity research professionals, the sectors they cover and the banks they left:
Michael Rietbrock
- Joseph Buckley, managing director, restaurants, Bear Stearns
- Robert Hopkins, managing director, medical devices, Lehman Brothers
- James Kissane, managing director, information technology services, Bear Stearns
- Suzanne Schiavelli, principal, specialty finance, Morgan Stanley
- Kuni Chen, vice president, metals and mining, Hapoalim Securities
- Kevin Fischbeck, vice president, healthcare facilities, Lehman Brothers
- Bryan Kraft, vice president, media/cable/entertainment, Credit Suisse
- Brian Wright, vice president, managed care, Jefferies & Co.
- Brad Zelnick, vice president, applications software, Bear Stearns
Buckley spent 23 years at Bear, while Chen is returning to BofA.
Some of the professionals were brought aboard to fill gaps in sector coverage (for example, the division did not have a media analyst prior to Kraft's appointment) and others were tapped to bulk up areas in which BofA already had a strong presence, such as healthcare, said Rietbrock.
"We're running a department with the profitability of the firm's equity business in mind," he said. "We're responding to where we perceive investor demand to be, and that should be highly correlated with increased revenue for the equity division."
Rietbrock declined to comment specifically on the possibility of adding more analysts in the future, though he did say, "We're definitely committed to this business, and we want to grow it along with the health and profitability of the larger equity business."
Rietbrock is himself a new addition to BofA. He was hired to replace Greg Ransom, who was named head of trading risk analytics, in May.
"This is an opportunity to strategically build a good research department when a lot of competitors are contracting their research divisions, and it's very exciting for me," he said.
Rietbrock spent 15 years as a research analyst covering lodging and gaming stocks for Citigroup. Then, two years ago, he left the sell side for the buy side, joining hedge fund Caxton Associates as a portfolio manager.
"Having seen the business from both sides gives you a better appreciation for the importance of research," said Rietbrock.
Upon returning to the sell side at BofA, he was reunited with former Citi colleagues Ciaran O'Kelly, now BofA's head of global equities, and Jeffrey Cohen, head of equity sales. Their prior relationship has made it easier to create stronger partnerships between the research group and the rest of BofA's equity businesses, said Rietbrock.
When asked if BofA would follow in the footsteps of firms such as Merrill Lynch by forming partnerships with independent research shops (Merrill launched the Merrill Open Minds program in April), Rietbrock responded, "Right now, our focus is on building our in-house capabilities, so we're not actively considering it but we're always aware of what other people are doing, and if we perceive that there is a demand from our client base we'll look at it."
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