The head of healthcare research has disappeared from UBS in London

Alexandra Hauber, head of European healthcare research at UBS, has left the bank. It's not clear where she's gone.

Recruiters say Hauber left UBS several weeks ago. She joined the Swiss bank in October 2013 and was based in London and Zurich. Prior to joining UBS, Hauber spent over 12 years at J.P. Morgan and four and a half years at Citi, making her one of the most experienced healthcare analysts in the City.

UBS declined to comment on Hauber's exit, which comes at a difficult time for European equity research. The industry is facing a shake-up under MiFID II, which requires that banks charge for research independently of execution fees. Nomura has cut its European equity research team and Haitong Securities is understood to have cut 30% of its equity researchers in London. 

Jefferies, however, is hiring. Recruiters say that Credit Suisse is also in the market for new equity research hires in London. UBS's rival said yesterday that equities sales and trading is one of its focus areas for 2016. Unfortunately, its revenues in the area declined by nearly 30% in the first quarter.

Photo credit: UBS UK office by felissy is licensed under CC BY 2.0.