Tim Abbot, head of options trading at Morgan Stanley in London, has left the US bank after 11 years at the firm, SRP understands.
Abbott joined Morgan Stanley in 2003 and has held a number of roles at the firm’s fixed income team in London. He also was co-head of European FX options trading alongside Ed Lynch, executive director at Morgan Stanley FX and emerging markets trading. Abbott was previously a foreign exchange options trader for the bank in Hong Kong.
Pirgun Akinal, executive director of emerging markets FX options, is also leaving. Akinal join Morgan Stanley’s FX emerging markets options team in London as a vice-president in 2009 reporting to Prusac Senad, at the time head of FX options trading and currently managing director, fixed income sales and trading in New York.
Akinal originally traded Turkish lira and rand options, and joined from HSBC where he was a trader in London and Istanbul.
In addition, the bank’s FX structuring team has also let go Thomas Euget, a structuring analyst, who had been with the firm since January 2013.
The US bank departures follow a recent headcount reduction in the bank’s fixed-income trading teams in London, New York and Toronto due to tough market conditions.
Morgan Stanley declined to comment.