Jefferies poaches Goldman Sachs high profile analyst Andrew Lyons
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The news: Investment house Jefferies has poached high profile Goldman Sachs banking analyst and managing director Andrew Lyons, leaving Goldmans without banking coverage.
The context: The move leaves Goldmans with no immediate successor at a time when the banks are the hottest sector on the market. The move was also a shock to Jefferies incumbent Matt Wilson who is understood to have been offered another position.
That Lyons’ defection was a shock was evident in Goldmans’ statement which said: “Andrew Lyons is leaving the firm. As a result, we are making … changes to our coverage”.
Those changes include the radical move of suspending coverage of all the major and significant banks from the big four to Macquarie Group, Bendigo & Adelaide and Judo Bank. Coverage of some more peripheral stocks has been assumed by John Li.
Jefferies has been contacted for comment.
What they said: “Accordingly, our investment ratings, target prices, and estimates for these stocks are no longer in effect and should not be relied upon,” Goldmans said.
Reporter's view: Given the weight of the banks on the Australian stock market, the role of banking analyst is highly coveted and highly paid. Other market participants say Jefferies would have had to cough up top dollar for Lyons given his 12 years at Goldmans and director role.
The ranks of the analysts have also been particularly stable with only a few shifts in the last decade and basically the same faces in the briefings for longer than that.
The poaching of Lyons, and the apparent surprise it was for Wilson, introduces an element of volatility and will signal what one bank investor relations veteran described as “high tempo musical chairs”.
Jefferies' Wilson is highly regarded with long experience while the Goldmans role is particularly coveted given the profile of the investment house. Meanwhile, the long incumbency of the senior analysts means there is a scarcity of immediate successors ready to step up.
The source: Goldman Sachs statement
