A talent war has broken out for equity derivatives traders at Wall Street’s top investment banks — here are the latest moves

Equity derivatives traders have become one of Wall Street’s hottest commodities.

Following record trading hauls in 2020 — thanks in part to market shocks from the pandemic that amped up volatility throughout the year — derivatives traders at top investment banks have seen their market value soar, and many have seized the moment to chase new opportunities.

Once big bank bonuses were paid out in January and February, hedge funds began poaching equity volatility traders at a torrid pace, snatching senior talent from Bank of America, Barclays, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs.

“Usually it’s just sell-side musical chairs,” one veteran volatility trader previously told Insider. “This is making things more interesting as the buy-side is scooping up so many people.”

Facing a potential scarcity of talent, some banks have been playing defense and shoring up vacancies with hires of their own, adding fuel to the burgeoning talent war. JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are the latest to see defections, with Bank of America poaching two veteran traders to head up their US index trading and single-stock derivatives trading desks.

Morgan Stanley this week also lost Derek Brannon, an executive director in index volatility, to Capula Investment Management and Thomas Hauch, a VP in single-stock derivatives, to Sculptor Capital Management sources told Insider. Representatives for Morgan Stanley, Capula, and Sculptor declined to comment.

Insider has been tracking the equity volatility trading hires and departures. Here’s the the latest:

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