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☆ UBS just reshuffled its leadership ranks after buying Credit Suisse. See the new power players in charge of the $1.7 trillion Swiss banking behemoth.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Michelle Abrego | Kaja Whitehouse | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The merger between Credit Suisse and UBS creates a new Swiss banking behemoth with $1.7 trillion in assets. Investment bank leadersThe president of UBS's investment bank, Robert Karofsky, circulated a memo on Monday announcing his new leadership team. Ebert, co-head of markets at Credit Suisse, was also named head of Credit Suisse for the Investment Bank, reporting to Karofsky. UBS global wealth management president Iqbal Khan revealed the appointments to its critical wealth business in an internal memo titled "Becoming a global wealth powerhouse." Members of the current Credit Suisse wealth management leadership team will report to both Yves-Alain and to their respective UBS global wealth management regional leader.

Persons: Yves, Alain Sommerhalder, Michael Ebert, Robert Karofsky, Ebert, Karofsky, Marco Valla, Valla, Javier Oficialdegui, Mike, I've, George Athanasopoulos, Jason Barron, Ros L'Esperance, Dan Dowd, Taichi Takahashi, Chris Leone, Julie Beavan, Tricia Hazelwood, Jeff Hinton, Kurt Anthony, Laurence Braham, Richard Hardegree, Richard Casavechia, Ozzie Ramos, Jason Williams, Neil Meyer, Ken Tittle, Iqbal Khan, Francesco De Ferrari, Khan, Reuters Yves, Alain, Wiwi Gutmannsbauer, Benjamin Cavalli, Cavalli, Kinner, Amy Lo, Jin Yee Young, Young, Hatecke, UBS's Anton Simonet, Christl, Jason Chandler, Sergio Ermotti, Ralph Hamers, Ermotti, MICHELE LIMINA, Todd Tuckner, Sarah Youngwood, Michelle Bereaux, Stefan Seiler, Christian Bluhm, Damian Vogel, Ulrich Körner Organizations: UBS, Credit Suisse, Suisse, Credit, Wall Street, Investment, Investment Bank, Barclays, Global Banking, Investment Bank Management, Global Markets, Global Research, IB, Resource Management, Staff, MUFG Securities, Reuters, Yves, Deutsche, Switzerland, Swiss Re, Getty Locations: Switzerland's, Swiss, Americas, Asia, Singapore, Switzerland, Europe, Middle East, Africa, America, AFP

☆ Goldman Sachs: These are the 24 best AI stocks to buy now as the technology boosts productivity and profits for decades
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( James Faris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Here are 24 top stocks to buy for exposure to AI, according to Goldman Sachs. Although artificial intelligence (AI) has been on everybody's minds lately, Goldman Sachs thinks investors may still be underselling how influential the technology can be. Goldman Sachs expects that AI will dramatically improve economic productivity and corporate earnings across the market. Stocks should be trading higher now based on how AI will impact businesses in the future, Goldman Sachs argued. Below are the 24 stocks in Goldman Sachs' AI basket, along with the ticker, market capitalization, and forward price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio for each.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Ryan Hammond, Goldman, Hammond, Cashin, Goldman Sachs isn't Organizations: UBS, Microsoft, Intel

June 9 (Reuters) - TriNet Group (TNET.N), an online payroll services provider with a market value of close to $7 billion, is exploring a potential sale of the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The Dublin, California-based company is working with investment bank Morgan Stanley (MS.N) to engage with potential acquirers, the sources said. TriNet shares rose 15% on the news to $111.85 in afternoon trading in New York on Friday. Founded in 1988, TriNet provides a wide range of human resources services to small and medium-sized businesses, including payroll, compliance and tax credit services. TriNet shares are up 44% so far this year, significantly outperforming an 11% return in the Russell 1000 index, as its business benefited from companies continuing to hire despite a spike in inflation.

Persons: Morgan Stanley, Michael Angelakis, TriNet, Milana Vinn, Marguerita Choy, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: TriNet, Comcast, General Atlantic, Federal Reserve, Thomson Locations: Dublin, California, New York, TriNet

LIV had filed an antitrust lawsuit in the United States seeking punitive damages against the PGA Tour for its "tortious interference" with contracts with golfers. PGA Tour had countersued, making similar claims. PGA Tour and LIV have now signed a framework agreement that calls for investment banks M Klein & Co and Allen & Co to carry out a valuation analysis of the assets of LIV and PGA Tour, respectively. A new company will be created that will be majority-owned by the existing PGA Tour, which is a nonprofit. The U.S. Department of Justice had already been looking at the dispute between PGA Tour and LIV as part of a broad antitrust probe into professional golf.

Persons: LIV, PIF, Milana Vinn, Greg Roumeliotis, Matthew Lewis Organizations: PGA Tour, PGA, Klein, Co, Allen, WHO, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, Regulators, U.S . Department of Justice, Foreign Investment, Thomson Locations: Saudi, United States, New York

The moves add to a trio of Barclays U.S. investment bankers that UBS announced it hired last month. Many Credit Suisse bankers are based in the United States. These bankers follow Barclays ex-colleagues Marco Valla, Jeff Hinton and Kurt Anthony, whose moves to UBS were announced in April. Sources told Reuters last month that UBS plans to retain only a small number of Credit Suisse senior bankers with strong client relationships. At Barclays, Braham was global chair of investment banking for technology, while Hardegree served as vice chair and head of technology M&A.

Persons: Laurence Braham, Richard Hardegree, Richard Casavechia, Ozzie Ramos, Jason Williams, Neil Meyer, Ken Tittle, Marco Valla, Jeff Hinton, Kurt Anthony, dealmaker Michael Klein, Braham, Hardegree, Casavechia, Ramos, Meyer, Tittle, Milana Vinn, Anirban Sen, Greg Roumeliotis, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: YORK, Barclays Plc, UBS Group AG, Barclays U.S, UBS, Credit, Group, Credit Suisse, Barclays, Reuters, Broadcom, VMware Inc, Thomson Locations: United States, Swiss, Zurich, New York

Rubrik may raise more than $750 million in its IPO, three of the sources added, though that may change based on market conditions as the preparations are still at an early stage. Rubrik currently generates annual recurring revenue of about $600 million, one of the sources said. Three of the sources said Rubrik could choose to go public in 2024, if the IPO market becomes more welcoming. Founded in 2014 by venture capitalist Bipul Sinha, Rubrik makes cloud-based ransomware protection and data-backup software. SoftBank-backed Cohesity Inc, which competes with Rubrik, is also preparing to go public, having filed confidentially for an IPO in late 2021, Reuters reported.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Rubrik, Bipul Sinha, Johnson, Echo Wang, Milana Vinn, Krystal Hu, Matthew Lewis Organizations: YORK, Microsoft Corp, Barclays Plc, Citigroup Inc, Barclays, Citi, Nvidia Corp, Depot Inc, Bain Capital Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Kenvue Inc, Johnson, SoftBank Group Corp, Inc, Reuters, Cohesity Inc, Thomson Locations: U.S, Palo Alto , California, ., New York

Venkatakrishnan's intervention underscores the pressure that the British bank is under to protect its U.S. investment banking franchise. Venkatakrishnan promised during the meeting to invest in the investment banking business to boost morale, the sources said. Miller left Barclays to join Jefferies last month, while Barclays only announced a new role for Astier this week, naming him global head of financial sponsors. Still, the exodus that Venkatakrishnan and other Barclays executives have been trying to stem has continued apace. But it was its consumer, cards and payments division, rather than investment banking, that led the charge.

Persons: C.S, Venkatakrishnan, dealmakers, Cathal Deasy, Morgan Stanley, Taylor Wright, Marco Valla, Deasy, John Miller, Jean, Francois Astier, Miller, Jefferies, Jim Rossman, Christopher Ludwig, Pete Contrucci, Evan Rothenberg, Daniel Kerstein, Contrucci, Rothenberg, Kerstein, Milana Vinn, Abigail Summerville, David Carnevali, Svea Herbst, Bayliss, Anirban Sen, Greg Roumeliotis, Christopher Cushing Organizations: YORK, Barclays, Citigroup Inc, UBS Group AG, Jefferies Financial Group Inc, Reuters, Credit Suisse Group AG, UBS, Lazard Ltd, Credit Suisse, Svea, Thomson Locations: Americas, Europe, Middle East, Africa, United States, New York, Rhode Island

Brookfield and DigitalBridge are leading opposing bidding consortia in the auction for privately held DigitalBridge, the sources said, adding an outcome is expected by next month. The terms of Compass' debt allow for it to be taken over by a new owner without it being refinanced, one of the sources said. The Deal reported in February that Compass Datacenters was exploring a sale. Compass Datacenters, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners and DigitalBridge declined to comment. During the same month, Brookfield Infrastructure also acquired freight container lessor Triton International Ltd (TRTN.N) for about $4.7 billion.

Persons: Dealmaking, Brookfield, Milana Vinn, Anirban Sen, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Brookfield Infrastructure Partners, DigitalBridge, RedBird Capital Partners, Ontario, Azrieli, Brookfield Infrastructure, Reuters, Triton International, Boca, Thomson Locations: Brookfield, Dallas , Texas, Data4, Boca Raton , Florida, New York

☆ Hedge funds are loading up on Nvidia and these other tech stocks, Goldman data shows
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Yun Li | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Hedge funds piled into Nvidia in the first quarter just in time for the chipmaker's eye-popping rally following a blowout forecast. The smart money hedge funds also loaded up on other tech stocks tied to artificial intelligence, according to Goldman Sachs. The Wall Street investment bank analyzed the holdings of 740 hedge funds with $2.2 trillion of gross equity positions at the start of 2023, based on regulatory filings. Goldman then identified technology, media and telecom (TMT) stocks with the largest net changes in hedge fund popularity during the first quarter. A total of 34 hedge funds added Nvidia to their portfolio in the first quarter, according to Goldman.

Persons: Goldman Sachs, Goldman, Jensen Huang, Stanley Druckenmiller, Druckenmiller, David Tepper's Organizations: Nvidia, Wall, Billionaire, Duquesne, National Instruments, KLA Corp, Silicon Laboratories, Dynatrace

NEW YORK, May 16 (Reuters) - Ed Wehle, a senior Barclays Plc (BARC.L) technology banker, has resigned to join U.S. rival Citigroup Inc (C.N) in New York, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters, adding to an exodus of top investment bankers from the London-based bank. An investment banking veteran of nearly three decades, Wehle will join Citigroup as its global head of technology services, Mark Keene, Citigroup's global head of technology investment banking, wrote in the memo to employees on Tuesday. "Technology services complements Citi’s unparalleled global client position, and Ed will work closely with partners in Asia, EMEA and Latin America," said Philip Drury, global head of technology & communications banking, capital markets & advisory at Citi. He was previously head of global technology services banking at Barclays, which he had joined in 2018 from Deutsche Bank AG (DBKGn.DE). Reuters reported on Monday that at least seven top Barclays technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) bankers have resigned to join UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) in the U.S. in the last few days.

NEW YORK, May 15 (Reuters) - At least seven top Barclays Plc (BARC.L) bankers have resigned to join to UBS Group AG (UBSG.S) in the United States in the last few days, people familiar with the matter said. The moves add to a trio of Barclays investment bankers that UBS announced internally it hired last month. Many Credit Suisse bankers are based in the United States. UBS has hired Laurence Braham, Richard Hardegree, Richard Casavechia, Ozzie Ramos, Jason Williams, Neil Meyer and Ken Tittle from Barclays, the sources said. These bankers follow Barclays ex-colleagues Marco Valla, Jeff Hinton and Kurt Anthony, whose moves to UBS were announced in April.

The moves add to a trio of Barclays U.S. investment bankers that UBS announced it hired last month. Many Credit Suisse bankers are based in the United States. Sources told Reuters last month that UBS plans to retain only a small number of Credit Suisse senior bankers with strong client relationships. At Barclays, Braham was global chair of investment banking for technology, while Hardegree served as vice chair and head of technology M&A. Williams, Meyer and Tittle were managing directors in the investment banking group.

☆ Wells Fargo is pushing for quantity over quality in its private bank
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Which brings us to a fantastic story about Wells Fargo's decision to reorganize how it serves its ultra-rich clients. And while many understood some changes were necessary, nearly everyone agreed the bank didn't go about it the right way. Read more about Wells Fargo's chaotic reorganization of its private bank. It's the latest move in what has been an active 12 months for the bank's tech division. The accounting firm had signed off on financial statements from Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic, the Financial Times reports.

☆ Meet Kim Posnett, the powerful Goldman Sachs dealmaker who was just named head of the investment bank's TMT unit
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Reed Alexander | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

Kim Posnett was just named head of Goldman's all-important TMT investment banking group. Posnett, 43, has long been one of the most senior figures at Goldman's investment bank. Posnett was previously the head of Goldman's investment-banking services unit, which acts as a salesforce for the global IB division. The former co-head of Goldman's TMT franchise will become co-chairman of the unit. The former would result in the IB services group, which functions, in effect, as a sales force.

May 3 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N) has named Kim Posnett as the head of its global technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) investment banking group, according to an internal company memo. Posnett, who is currently the co-head of the One Goldman Sachs initiative at the bank, will continue to hold her existing responsibilities. The One Goldman Sachs initiative aims to integrate the bank's dealings with clients across teams. Posnett, who has also served as the global head of investment banking services at Goldman, is one of the few executives who spoke at the bank's investor day in February alongside its chief executive and finance head. In a separate memo sent out by Goldman's heads of global banking & markets, Ashok Varadhan, Dan Dees and Jim Esposito, Goldman also named Aasem Khalil as the new global head of its Investment Banking Services division.

☆ Goldman Sachs is making a slew of leadership changes in its investment bank. See the key moves here.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Goldman has internally announced a slew of leadership changes in its investment bank. Goldman's Aasem Khalil will take on Posnett's role as global head of investment banking services. A fresh face will now lead one of Wall Street's most powerful investment banking groups. She ultimately served as co-COO of TMT and head of Internet investment banking before being appointed head of investment banking services. Succeeding Posnett as head of global investment banking services is Aasem Khalil, a Goldman partner and 26-year veteran of the Wall Street bank.

NEW YORK, April 21 (Reuters) - EverCommerce Inc (EVCM.O), a private equity-backed management software vendor, is exploring a sale of the company after attracting acquisition interest, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. EverCommerce is working with investment bank Centerview Partners to explore its options, the sources said. EverCommerce shares jumped on the news and were trading up 15% at $13.27 on Friday morning in New York, giving the company a market value of $2.5 billion. PSG Equity and Silver Lake declined to comment, while EverCommerce and Centerview did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Based in Denver, Colorado, EverCommerce provides management software tools and services to companies, including in the healthcare and fitness sectors.

NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Cybersecurity firm Forcepoint is exploring a sale of its government security unit for more than $2 billion, five people familiar with the matter said. Forcepoint is looking to offload the unit as part of its strategy to focus on growing its commercial business, which caters to large corporations, the sources added. Austin, Texas-based Forcepoint develops and creates computer security software, data protection, and firewall solutions. Last year, Forcepoint won an $89 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense to provide software solutions that would help monitor user activity. Forcepoint also counts the likes of International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N), CVS Health Corp (CVS.N), Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O) and Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O) as customers.

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) has agreed to buy a significant stake in FGS Global in a deal that values the financial communications group at about $1.4 billion. As part of the deal, KKR will buy up a 30% stake from senior employees at FGS Global and its largest investors, including London-based advertising giant WPP Plc (WPP.L). WPP, which was founded by Martin Sorrell, will retain a majority stake in FGS Global. Existing investor Golden Gate Capital is selling its entire stake to KKR, which is investing in FGS Global through its $8-billion European Fund VI. FGS Global currently employs more than 1,200 people across 27 offices globally.

NEW YORK, April 11 (Reuters) - Bain Capital Tech Opportunities, the tech-focused investment arm of Bain Capital, has agreed to buy a stake in iManage, the enterprise software firm said on Tuesday. The terms of the deal, including the purchase price and size of the stake, were not disclosed. Founded in 1995, Chicago, Illinois-based iManage provides document management software and tools primarily to law firms, accounting firms, and companies in the financial services industry. In 2003, iManage merged with rival content management firm Interwoven. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for software tools built by companies such as iManage has boomed as companies have accelerated the shift to remote working and increased spending on content management software.

☆ China's payment association warns over risks of using AI products like ChatGPT
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI/BEIJING, April 10 (Reuters) - China's payment & clearing industry association warned on Monday against using Microsoft-backed OpenAI's ChatGPT and similar artificial intelligence tools due to "risks such as cross-border data leaks." "Payment industry staff must comply with laws and rules when using tools such as ChatGPT, and should not upload confidential information related to the country and the finance industry," the Payment & Clearing Association of China said in a statement on Monday. Italy has temporarily banned ChatGPT and launched a probe over suspected breaches of privacy rules. Excitement in China over the chatbot has helped to fuel a rally in tech, media and telecom (TMT) shares, with analysts cautioning bubble risks. Chinese shares in computer (.CSI930651), media (.CSI399971) and communications equipment (.CSI931160) tumbled between 3.4% and 5.6% on Monday.

Credit Suisse's investment bankers are not waiting around to find out if UBS will give them jobs. UBS executives have pulled no punches when discussing the future of Credit Suisse's investment banking teams and trading desks. Jeff CohenA two-decade Credit Suisse veteran, Cohen heads up Credit Suisse's leveraged and acquisition finance business from New York. Previously, Cohen was Credit Suisse's head of global credit products and global head of leveraged finance capital markets. Marco SuperinaA Credit Suisse veteran since 1997, Superina heads Credit Suisse's M&A efforts in the firm's native Switzerland.

April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm TPG Inc (TPG.O) said on Tuesday it has agreed to buy a majority stake in Elite, a vendor of business management software for law firms, from information provider Thomson Reuters Corp (TRI.TO) at a valuation of $500 million. Thomson Reuters will keep a minority stake and board representation in Elite and continue to support it with its legal information products, the companies said. Paul Fischer, president of Thomson Reuters' legal professionals division, said that Elite will continue to share many of Thomson Reuters' clients as a standalone company. Elite offers software that helps law firms run their finance and accounting operations, including billing, invoicing and payments. TPG partner Tim Millikin said that the data and automation that Elite offers are in demand among legal professionals.

☆ Metaverse could drive up profits — but most businesses may not be ready to invest yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-03 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

70% of companies are investing less than 5% of their technology budgets in 2023 into metaverse, while 27% have not invested into metaverse at all, a KPMG report showed. The metaverse has a great potential to drive up business profits but there's a lack of proven success for companies to pour big money into it now, showed a survey by KPMG. The KPMG survey showed that 60% of TMT executives think metaverse can drive revenue and profits and lower operating expenses as transactions shift from physical to virtual. They believe it can also improve customer satisfaction through interactive experiences, the survey showed. "The majority of TMT executives taking part in our survey feel that the metaverse is several years from becoming a thriving commercial ecosystem," said the report.

Endeavor and WWE did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Sunday. The deal could be announced as early as this week, the sources said. Endeavor shareholders will own 51% of the combined company, while WWE shareholders would get 49%, the sources said. Endeavor is led by Hollywood power broker Ari Emanuel, who earlier this month declined to answer questions about a possible deal. In January, WWE said it would explore strategic options that could include a sale, shortly after Vince McMahon's return to the company.

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