Rochdale Securities has lost eight traders, as the brokerage struggles to survive following an unapproved $1 billion trade in Apple Inc. went sour.
President Daniel J. Crowley declined comment, when asked late Wednesday afternoon by Traders Magazine about the departures and whether the firm had reached any agreements with investors to put in fresh capital.
Three weeks ago, Crowley told Traders that the firm was “very close” to getting new investors on board.
The departures include:
- Equity sales traders Richard Bennett and Keith Arnott, who went to work for MKM Partners in Stamford, Conn.
- Equity sales trader Barry Kaplan, who joined Oscar Gruss & Son in New York
- Five traders who went to Rafferty Capital Markets in Rowayton, Conn., including Kristen Talgo and Hal Tunick, who headed institutional trading in equities at Rochdale, which is based in Greenwich, Conn.
Crowley is seeking a rescue for the 37-year-old company, which employs Dick Bove, an analyst known for his coverage of the biggest U.S. banks.
The task has been complicated by defections and possible regulatory probes, people with knowledge of the situation have said.
Bennett, who has worked in the securities industry for more than 40 years, joined MKM on Nov. 26 along with Arnott, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority records show.
Reached at MKM, Arnott declined to comment. Bennett didn’t immediately return an e-mail seeking more information.
Kaplan, who works in merger arbitrage and special situations, confirmed in an e-mail that he had joined Oscar Gruss, the brokerage that traces its roots to Poland almost a century ago. Crowley and Michael Shaoul, head of Oscar Gruss, didn’t return calls seeking comment.
Top executives told potential investors that an employee named David Miller bought about $1 billion of Apple stock around the time of the Cupertino, California-based technology firm’s October earnings release, the people said. Kenneth “Casey” Murphy, Miller’s lawyer at Simon & Partners LLP, said earlier his client had no comment.
Rochdale has provided trading and research for institutional clients since 1975, according to its website.
