The changes to the bond business have affected some of the industry’s most seasoned veterans.
Jon Bass sat just five desks from Chief Executive Officer John Gutfreund, 85, at Salomon Brothers Inc., the firm that inspired Tom Wolfe’s 1987 novel “The Bonfire of the Vanities.” Gutfreund was dubbed the “King of Wall Street” by Businessweek in 1985.
Wolfe referred to bond traders including protagonist Sherman McCoy as the “Masters of the Universe” in his novel that chronicled excesses on Wall Street. The book topped the New York Times’ bestseller list for two months and remained on the list for more than a year. It was made into a 1990 film starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis and Melanie Griffith.
Jefferies Hire
Bass went on to help run UBS AG’s fixed-income business before leaving the Swiss bank in 2009 after nine years. Now, the 52-year-old Bass is on his fifth job in as many years, joining Jefferies LLC in a senior sales role after less than two years at BNP Paribas SA as deputy head of fixed income.
His recent positions included five months at Mizuho Securities USA Inc., a year at now-bankrupt MF Global Holdings Ltd. and less than two years at BTIG LLC, according to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records.
Bass didn’t respond to phone calls seeking comment.
“We recruited Jon because he has exceptional references from a broad and important client base,” Rich Handler, chief executive officer of Jefferies, said in an e-mailed statement. “He has a reputation as a team player and as a strong and honest leader. We look forward to having him join Jefferies.”
Lee Fensterstock, 66, has had at least five jobs since leaving his role as managing director of the fixed-income division at Jefferies in 2007.
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