Nov. 22, 2010 (Business Wire) -- BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research today announced that Athanasios (Thanos) Vamvakidis will be joining the group as head of European G10 Foreign Exchange (FX) Strategy, reporting to David Woo, head of Global Rates and Currencies Research. In this role, Vamvakidis will be responsible for our European G10 currency research coverage. Additionally, he will lead the G10 FX research marketing effort in the European region, working closely with his colleagues in the U.S. and Asia Pacific. Vamvakidis will be based in London.
Vamvakidis joins from the International Monetary Fund, where he held a variety of positions over the last 13 years, most recently as deputy division chief. He received his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Macedonia and his master’s and Ph.D. degrees in economics from Harvard University.
“Thanos joining BofA Merrill Lynch Research further broadens the scope of and skill sets within our Foreign Exchange Strategy team,” said Woo. “His extensive experience in public policy will provide an original perspective on the interaction between government policies and the currency markets.”
Working with Vamvakidis in London are Foreign Exchange Strategists Naeem Wahid, who joined the firm in December 2009, and Richard Cochinos, who joined the FX Strategy team in 2006 and recently relocated to London from New York.
The goal of BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research is to be the premier global research franchise, providing clients with exceptional service, value-added investment insights and alpha-generating investment recommendations. Since January 2009, BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research has hired 40 analysts in the United States and an additional 25 analysts globally.
The BofA Merrill Lynch Global Research franchise covers over 3,100 stocks globally and ranks in the top tier in many external surveys. Most recently, the group was named 2010 Top Global Broker (second consecutive year), Top Europe Broker, No. 2 U.S. Broker and No. 3 Asia broker by Financial Times/StarMine. The team was also named Best Brokerage by Forbes/Zacks for the second consecutive year.
In addition, the group was named No. 1 in the 2010 Institutional Investor All-Emerging Europe and All-Latin America Research team surveys and No. 3 in the 2010 Institutional Investor All-America Equity, All-Fixed Income and All-Europe Research team surveys. The group was also the winner of the Emerging Markets’ magazine EM Research Global Award for 2010.
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