World financial news

JPMorgan (JPM.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) says it has tapped Bear Stearns’ former Asia CEO to run its sovereign wealth group, joining other Wall Street banks in seeking more business from state-run funds from the Middle East and Asia.

JPMorgan completed the fire-sale acquisition this month of Bear Stearns (BSC_pf.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), following its stock plunge and collapse this year. Like the rest of Bear’s employees, the future of former Asia head John Moore was uncertain.

Sovereign wealth funds are the state-run investment vehicles that, through mainly soaring oil prices or trade surpluses, have amassed trillions of dollars and have increasingly invested it in companies across the world, from Wall Street to London.

Last August, New York-based Bear appointed Moore as its Hong Kong-based Asia CEO, as it tried to build its business overseas. Previously, he was co-head of fixed income for Europe.

Before Moore’s arrival, Bear was a small player in Asia payday advances. At the time, Bear said it was focused on catching up with bigger rivals such as Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) in markets outside the United States.

Moore joined Bear Stearns in 2001 as global head of agency capital markets in New York. He moved to London to manage fixed income sales and trading in 2004, and in 2006 became co-head of fixed income in Europe.

JPMorgan’s move to hire him as their sovereign wealth chief comes as other Wall Street firms seek to tap the funds’ growing business across the globe.

In April, Lehman Brothers (LEH.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said its head of consumer, retail and media for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Makram Azar, would take on the newly created role of global head of sovereign wealth funds. Azar is based in Dubai. 

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