White House Former Chief Of Staff Joins Hedge Fund Launched By Former JPM Prop Traders

– White House Former Chief Of Staff Joins Hedge Fund Launched By Former JPM Prop Traders (ZeroHedge, April 24, 2014):

“The amount of experience he has is ridiculous,” says former JPM prop trader Galuti, adding “- in a positive way,” as he explains why former Clinton Commerce secretary (and Obama chief of staff) Bill Daley has joined the small Swiss-based hedge fund. The revolving door of favors continues as Daley, who The FT reports will be based in Chicago and oversee US expansion (as well as provide macroeconomic and political advice), joins an ever-growing number of former Obama administration officials to have taken jobs in the financial sector.

As The FT reports, Bill Daley, the former White House chief of staff, is to join the hedge fund Argentière Capital, which was founded last year by leaders of JPMorgan’s disbanded proprietary trading division.

Mr Daley, who was also Commerce Secretary under President Bill Clinton, joins a number of former Obama administration officials to have taken jobs in the financial sector.

…

He will be based in Chicago and help spearhead the fund’s US expansion, as well as provide macroeconomic and political advice.

…

Argentière – based in Zug, Switzerland, the low-tax canton that is also home to global commodities trader Glencore – was founded by Deepak Gulati, former global head of equity proprietary trading at JPMorgan, and 15 other members of the bank’s prop trading desk.

This is not Daley’s first time in banking…

From 2004 until his appointment to the White House in January 2011, Mr Daley was Midwest chairman of JPMorgan, and his introduction to Argentière was brokered by another alumnus of the bank, Jes Staley, formerly head of the investment banking division.

President Barack Obama chose Mr Daley as chief of staff in an attempt to mend fences with Wall Street, but his brief tenure was characterised by fractious relations with Congress and he had his role reduced in November 2011 before eventually resigning two months later.

and follows this last year….

Mr Daley’s return to the financial sector comes after Mr Daley briefly explored running for Governor of Illinois last year.

As he joins a long list of former White House officials who have found homes in the financial services industry…

Tim Geithner, President Obama’s first Treasury secretary, last November joined Warburg Pincus as president and managing director of the private equity firm. Lawrence Summers, former director of the National Economic Council, has taken an advisory role at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

Long live crony capitalism.