For many top operators in high-finance, it's getting tough to snag nice paydays, especially for those who work for major firms. What to do? The answer is easy: leave.
In today's world, this is fairly straightforward. After all, office space is cheap. And with the Internet and outsourcing, it doesn't take much to put together an infrastructure
Just take a look at Roger Jenkins, who is a senior executive at Barclays (NYSE: BCS). After a long career with the firm, he is now leaving to Los Angeles where he will start his own advisory firm. This is according to a report in the Wall Street Journal (subscription only).
Keep in mind that Jenkins has been critical for Barclays; that is, he helped to arrange key financing for the firm while it was on the brink (he also helped with the purchase of the operations of Lehman Brothers). To do this, he leveraged his contacts in the Middle East. The upshot: he helped to raise $11.4 billion in capital from Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi's International Petroleum Investment Co. It was enough to stave off a takeover by government authorities.
No doubt, with his sterling network, Jenkins should have no problem generating nice fees – most of which he can keep for himself. Perhaps the new heavy government regulations will be a good thing, at least for the world's top financial pros.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook, You can reach him at his personal blog.
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