Bernstein is currently in negotiations to cut a significant number of roles from within its French office, the firm has confirmed.
Specifically, “Bernstein France has entered into discussions with trade unions regarding the implementation of a voluntary redundancy program,” according to a spokesperson.
The move concerns up to 28 roles, with no forced redundancies, The TRADE understands.
It comes as Societe Generale continues its cost efficiency strategy since the launch of the equities and research joint venture back in April 2024.
The JV between equity research and cash equities specialist AllianceBernstein and derivatives and prime services firm Societe Generale was set to enable Societe Generale to offer clients a suite of global services across the equities value-chain, ranging from equity and macro research to agency execution, equity derivatives, prime brokerage and equity capital markets offerings.
From the trading perspective, the JV is made up of one unique trading team covering both high touch and low touch per region – in the US, Europe, and Asia, respectively.
In the US, most of this team hails from Alliance Bernstein, as reported by The TRADE at the time the JV was announced, whilst in Asia and in Europe the teams are a 50/50 split of both Societe Generale and Alliance Bernstein’s existing teams.
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Speaking to The TRADE at the time, back in 2024, Stephane Loiseau, previously head of Societe Generale’s cash equities business and deputy chief executive of Bernstein, highlighted that the main focus for the JV going forward was on equity prime brokerage.
“It is definitely the biggest wallet in equities. When you look at the global picture, cash equities is a small sliver in comparison and currently the two are connected so now we’ll finally be in a position where we can build that as a product globally,” said Loiseau at the time.
He added that the joint venture provided the opportunity to be relevant globally and across the bigger sway of the equity chain.
“Societe Generale has obviously very strong expertise in derivatives. So, once you put these two things together (research and cash equities with equity derivatives and prime services) you have the scope and expertise to offer world class content (e.g. research) and a leading global trading platform.”