UBS braces for moves to Barrenjoey

Picture: AFP

Top brass at UBS will face a nervous wait in the coming days as they brace for a potential mass exodus of staff from the group’s Australian offices to industry newcomer Barrenjoey Capital Partners.

Senior staff have already received short-term cash payments for their dealmaking activity over the past year, but the understanding is that they will receive their stock payments on Thursday or Friday.

Barrenjoey was launched last year by former top UBS Australia operatives such as Guy Fowler and several top dealmakers from the Swiss financial have already joined its ranks.

More investment bankers, equities operatives and analysts were always expected to follow their colleagues to Barrenjoey after bonus payments were made.

Some suggestions around the market are that after Barrenjoey has hired 150 staff, it has plans to at least double in size in the short term.

Barrenjoey still needs to find top investment banking talent to cover private equity, industrial companies and natural resources. Being closely watched are UBS investment banking operatives such as Justin Dwyer, Kelvin Barry, Luke Bentvelzen, Mitch Turner and Calvin O’Shaughnessy to see if they head for the door.

Barrenjoey has already poached infrastructure banker Jarrod Key, capital markets operative Barry Sharkey and telco banker Peter Nelson from UBS.

Research analysts are also still needed, along with back-­office staff.

Barrenjoey’s 40 per cent shareholder Magellan Financial Group said in its chief executive’s interim letter last month that the investment banking start-up now had 150 employees, gathered from about 30 different institutions, with no institution representing more than 15 per cent of those employed.

Barrenjoey’s chief executive is Brian Benari, while Guy Fowler is executive chairman and David Gonski is independent chairman.

Magellan says 40 per cent of staff are women and half are under 40. The firm has won mandates since late last year following the receipt of its licence.