CLSA has pulled down the shutters on its US equities business, becoming one of the highest-profile victims of a big squeeze on research.
The Hong Kong-based brokerage, wholly owned by China’s Citic Securities, on Monday said it would cut more than half of its staff in the US. About 90 positions are to go from US equity research, sales and trading, corporate access and associated support functions, while the remainder — about 85 — will continue to focus on offering Asian stocks to American clients.
CLSA said it was still “fully committed” to its equity business in Asia, where it consistently tops polls of investors, and noted that it continues to offer the biggest dedicated Asia-markets sales desk in North America.