J.P. Morgan Online Brokerage Analyst Smith Out the Door

The bank won't say if he will be replaced.

Author:: Kristen French
Publish date:: Apr 4, 2002 10:40 AM EST

J.P. Morgan Chase

analyst Gregory Smith, who covered the electronic brokerage and trading industry, left the firm Wednesday after he was offered a buyout package. Sources say Smith is among many employees that have been offered packages.

"Today is my last day at J.P. Morgan," Smith wrote in an email. "I will be taking some time off before looking for new opportunities. I intend to remain closely involved within the exciting electronic brokerage industry."

Smith declined to comment further on the move, but a source close to him at J.P. Morgan said the firm gave him "an opportunity to cash out," and "given that opportunity, he thought it was the best time to take some time off." The source said other employees at J.P. Morgan had also been offered voluntary buyouts. "It's not an isolated incident," he said.

J.P. Morgan spokesman Brian Marcioni declined to comment on whether other analysts or employees would be leaving. He did say the firm has hired two new analysts in the past three weeks: Jamie Baker is now covering airlines and David Wheeler is covering integrated oil.

Marcioni said the firm is "reviewing its options" as to whether it will fill the position left by Smith's departure. Smith's assistant Adam Townsend, who has been working with Smith for three years on the sector, said he might take over in the interim.

Feeling the pinch of the stock market decline and a dearth of mergers and acquisitions activity, Wall Street asset managers and brokerages laid off tens of thousands of workers in 2001. J.P. Morgan Chase announced plans to cut a total of around 8,000 jobs in 2001.