CIBC World Markets ramps up hedge fund coverage

Date: Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Author: Andrew Willis, Globe and Mail.com, Streetwise Blog

CIBC World Markets moved this week to rebuild a hedge fund sales team that was hit hard by departures over the last month.
Giorgia Anton is joining the institutional equity desk from the sales team at Raymond James. A reformed chartered accountant, she got her start in sales at Vancouver-based Salman Partners.
CIBC World Markets lost a number of sales veterans to rivals such as TD Securities, in part because its share priced has slumped on serious credit market losses. Stock makes up a big chunk of compensation at the investment bank.
The dealer has also tinkered with the way it pays investment bankers, according to sources at the bank. CIBC World Markets’ stock-based compensation used to vest in three equal chunks annually, over three years. This year, employees report that the CIBC stock they received in 2007 doesn’t vest for three years.