A senior equity trader at Candriam Investors Group has retired as the asset manager continues to renew its trading desk workflow for MiFID II.
Christian Somers had a long career with Candriam, contributing to major transformation initiatives and improvements to the firm’s order management, programme trading, electronic execution and transaction cost analysis for equities.
He has been replaced by Frédéric Heirebaudt who has become a senior equity trader in equities, derivatives and foreign exchange. Heirebaudt has been with Candriam Investors Group for almost 14 years working in portfolio management for private mandates.
Speaking to The TRADE, Candriam’s global head of trading, Fabien Oreve, explained that the firm has been busy adapting to MiFID II since the beginning of the year.
“New European regulations promote market transparency and more convergence between asset classes. We need diversity on our trading desk, with specialists and generalists, senior and junior traders working more horizontally,” he said.
“Having multi-disciplinary teams working together from completely different backgrounds and willing to adapt to new constraints is a business imperative for buy-side trading desks.”
Candriam has made efforts in recent years to bolster its multi-asset trading desk and foster new buy-side talent in Europe.
The firm hired TRADE Rising Star Vincent Minichetti from Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management in Paris in 2017 covering cash equity, FX and derivatives.