Prime broker Merlin Securities has hired Rick Bensignor, formerly of Morgan Stanley, to serve as chief market strategist.
Bensignor held the same position in Morgan Stanleys Principal Strategies Group, and before that was the firms institutional investor-ranked technical strategy analyst overseeing technical research products. He has also worked for Dahlman Rose and Bloomberg.
At Merlin, Bensignor will produce behavioral market strategy research focused on a variety of asset classes and macro-economic commentary that will be made available to all of Merlin’s existing MerlinPrime, MerlinSHARP and Merlin Institutional Group (MIG) clients. Bensignor will report directly to Stephan Vermut, founder and managing partner of Merlin Securities, and will be based in the firm’s New York office.
“Rick’s insights into behavioral economics and his deep understanding of the macro issues which drive markets make him a valuable and welcome addition to our team,” Vermut says. “Fund managers benefiting from our powerful reporting systems, risk analysis, and comprehensive fund workflow solutions will now also be able to take advantage of Rick’s market analysis, trading strategies and investment acumen. Having this type of seasoned professional as a resource is an incredible value-add for our clients.”
Bensignor has been an adjunct instructor at New York University, where he taught behavioral economics and finance theory as well as trading and technical analysis courses. His published the book New Thinking in Technical Analysis: Trading Models from the Masters in 2000.
“I am thrilled to be joining Merlin Securities which has, since its inception, been dedicated to becoming the premier provider of products and services to the alternative asset management industry,” Bensignor says. “I look forward to adding my thinking to Merlin’s incredible suite of products and services that enable asset managers to better run their businesses and focus on generating alpha for their investors.”
(CG)