By Lynne Marek July 03, 2012
(Crain's) â Chicago trading firm Breakwater Capital LLC pushed out its former CEO last month and cut about half of its employees in the wake of a trading loss and amid a challenging market, according to people familiar with the situation.
Former CEO and Managing Partner Tom Rubio, who was instrumental in building the firm, exited last month, according to the sources. While he didn't place the bad trade, he took responsibility for the team that did, the sources said.
Breakwater's general counsel, Walter Yurkanin, declined to comment.
The firm, also known as Breakwater Trading, had about 80 employees earlier this year but has cut about 40 of them, leaving its office space at Willis Tower with a lot of empty desks, the sources said.
Breakwater, which focused on trading in treasury futures and options and the cash treasury market, has approached other firms about possibly joining forces in some fashion as the firm seeks to restructure in the wake of the multimillion-dollar trading loss, the sources said. The firm was exploring such possibilities even before the loss, some sources said.
The decline in interest rates in recent years and a drop in trading volume and volatility this year has created a challenging trading environment for a lot of Chicago trading firms. They have had to take on more risk to follow their historical trading strategies, while absorbing rising technology, talent and regulatory compliance costs.
In 2006, Breakwater sought to merge with another Chicago trading firm, Peak6 Investments L.P., but that union never materialized, despite a news release from the firms announcing the combination. Breakwater was founded in 2001.
Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/arti...former-ceo-about-half-its-staff#ixzz20WFqbSjq
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(Crain's) â Chicago trading firm Breakwater Capital LLC pushed out its former CEO last month and cut about half of its employees in the wake of a trading loss and amid a challenging market, according to people familiar with the situation.
Former CEO and Managing Partner Tom Rubio, who was instrumental in building the firm, exited last month, according to the sources. While he didn't place the bad trade, he took responsibility for the team that did, the sources said.
Breakwater's general counsel, Walter Yurkanin, declined to comment.
The firm, also known as Breakwater Trading, had about 80 employees earlier this year but has cut about 40 of them, leaving its office space at Willis Tower with a lot of empty desks, the sources said.
Breakwater, which focused on trading in treasury futures and options and the cash treasury market, has approached other firms about possibly joining forces in some fashion as the firm seeks to restructure in the wake of the multimillion-dollar trading loss, the sources said. The firm was exploring such possibilities even before the loss, some sources said.
The decline in interest rates in recent years and a drop in trading volume and volatility this year has created a challenging trading environment for a lot of Chicago trading firms. They have had to take on more risk to follow their historical trading strategies, while absorbing rising technology, talent and regulatory compliance costs.
In 2006, Breakwater sought to merge with another Chicago trading firm, Peak6 Investments L.P., but that union never materialized, despite a news release from the firms announcing the combination. Breakwater was founded in 2001.
Read more: http://www.chicagobusiness.com/arti...former-ceo-about-half-its-staff#ixzz20WFqbSjq
Stay on top of Chicago business with our free daily e-newsletters