Citi Global Wealth CIO Stepping Down

The CIO of Citigroup Inc.’s global wealth division announced Monday his departure after 15 years at the firm.

David Bailin will be leaving the firm on May 15 to be replaced on an interim basis by Steven Weiting, chief investment strategist and chief economist for the division, according to a memo provided by the firm. In a post on LinkedIn, Bailin said he would be focusing his “energy and entrepreneurial spirit to address investment strategy issues facing family offices. And I intend to partner with others who share that interest.”

As CIO of global wealth, Bailin oversaw investment teams for the banks’ private and consumer banks, responsible for asset allocation, manager research and portfolio management, and was a regular market commentator for the bank.

“As I look back on my years at Citi, I am filled with gratitude,” Bailin wrote. “I have had the distinct privilege of working with extraordinary clients who expected and received Citi’s best thinking due, in large measure, to the expertise of my wonderful colleagues.”

He thanked a number of colleagues in the note, as well as the global wealth group’s head, Andy Sieg.

Sieg was hired by Citi CEO Jane Fraser in March 2023 to take over the wealth division that has seen rocky returns in recent years; Sieg left Merrill’s wealth management team, where he was also part of the senior leadership team with parent Bank of America, to take the role. 

In a memo to employees, Sieg wrote that the firm will be conducting an internal and external search for the next CIO, with Wieting reporting up to him in the meantime.

Bailin joined the firm’s private bank in 2009 as global head of managed investments, during which he rebuilt the firm’s investment solutions capabilities; in 2017, he became global head of investments, and was named CIO in 2019. Prior to joining Citi, he was head of alternative investment asset management for Bank of America’s global wealth and investment management team. He has also co-founded a hedge fund of funds, Martello Investment Management, and was a senior executive at hedge funds John W. Henry and Company and Ellington Management Group.

Bailin also noted in his post that he would continue publishing independent market commentary and insights and encouraged people to reach out by direct message with their email to receive them. In Citi’s 2024 outlook, he struck an optimistic tone on the markets, forecasting “slow then grow” economic activity.

“This is a good time to be a global investor, maybe even a very good time,” he wrote, later in the piece noting that: “Our ‘Slow then grow’ thesis sees a deceleration in economic activity during the early part of 2024, but no synchronized recession, followed by an economic acceleration later in the year.”