A 28-year-old Jefferies banker who fell sufferer to a suspected drug overdose was working as a lot as 100 hours every week earlier than his loss of life — whilst fellow staffers griped to bosses about punishing workloads, The Submit has discovered.
Carter McIntosh, who joined the Wall Road funding financial institution in 2023 after doing stints at Goldman Sachs and Moelis in New York Metropolis, was discovered lifeless in his Dallas residence on Jan. 27.
A police report cited a “potential overdose” and mentioned officers who discovered the junior banker lifeless on his sofa found “a white powdery substance” together with a “rolled up 100 greenback invoice” within the kitchen, The Submit reported completely on Friday.
McIntosh had been prescribed treatment for consideration deficit dysfunction, or ADD, in response to the police report — elevating fears that he may have overdosed on Adderall, a stimulant utilized by Wall Streeters to climate their punishing work days.
“He was a grinder,” a supply mentioned of McIntosh. “He was a extremely onerous employee and he was on a really tough staff in Dallas. They gave him a number of sh-t.”
A Jefferies insider instructed the Submit that Adderall’s use was widespread on the agency, as at many banks throughout Wall Road the place staffers wrestle to maintain up with the trade’s brutal schedule.
“Tons of individuals on the financial institution take it,” the supply mentioned.
McIntosh’s loss of life has renewed debate about Wall Road’s brutal work tradition, which was reignited final 12 months by the loss of life of 35-year-old Financial institution of America banker Leo Lukenas.
The previous Inexperienced Beret died from a blood clot in his coronary heart days after allegedly working 100-hour weeks to shut a significant deal. Whereas there is no such thing as a proof his loss of life was linked to his work, JPMorgan moved to cap work weeks at 80 hours after the scandal.
Jefferies has no such cap and its hard-driving tradition carried over from the corporate’s Madison Avenue headquarters in Manhattan to the satellite tv for pc workplace in Dallas, in response to a number of sources on the funding financial institution who requested anonymity earlier than talking to The Submit.
They claimed McIntosh and different younger bankers had been pushed to their limits beneath stress to shut megabuck M&A offers.
The California native was on the financial institution’s know-how, media, and telecoms staff. He reported on to managing director Lawrence Chu and labored intently on offers with fellow MD Nicholas Brown.
McIntosh “had been labored like a canine” within the weeks earlier than his passing, one of many sources mentioned.
“The blokes are type of ruthless on that staff.”
Each Chu and Brown didn’t reply to The Submit’s request for remark, however one Jefferies supply described the 28-year-old hours as “unsustainable.”
One banker, who requested for his or her identification to be withheld amid worry of reprisals, mentioned that some senior tech bankers had been recognized to behave “like a bull in a china store” towards youthful co-workers.
Two Jefferies insiders additionally instructed The Submit that junior staff members raised issues in regards to the grueling hours to senior administration within the month earlier than McIntosh’s loss of life.
“You might be working with more and more tough people who find themselves going to offer you sh-t it doesn’t matter what you ship them,” one nameless banker alleged.
“These children are geared in the direction of blaming themselves slightly than blaming the system. So they only work tougher and sleep much less, eat much less, and work out much less.”
A Jefferies spokesperson mentioned: “This wild hypothesis wants to finish. These statements are merely false. We consider that individuals are utilizing this tragic incident and twisting it for their very own functions.”
The rep declined to touch upon McIntosh’s schedule or the character of the agency’s working atmosphere.
Regulation enforcement officers instructed The Submit that their investigation is ongoing.
An official with town’s medical expert mentioned an post-mortem report had not but been compiled as a result of they had been ready for the outcomes of toxicology checks.
California property data present McIntosh grew up in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 40 miles east of Los Angeles, and graduated from the close by all-boys Damien Excessive College in 2014.
McIntosh moved to New Jersey for faculty, graduating in 2018. He joined Jefferies in September 2023 after stints at Goldman Sachs and Moelis, in response to his LinkedIn profile.
His mother and father and sister nonetheless stay in California. McIntosh’s mom didn’t return a request for remark from The Submit.
Jefferies CEO Wealthy Handler referred to as McIntosh “a popular and revered skilled”, including that he “had a pleasure for all times and was so welcoming to everybody.”
The 63-year-old finance titan has been with the agency since 1990, beginning as a dealer. The financial institution’s newest out there proxy assertion from 2024 reveals that Handler raked in an $18.9 million wage in the course of the earlier 12 months.
The CEO was caught in a clumsy Instagram video at a Miami consumer occasion on the day after McIntosh’s loss of life. On Feb. 1, he wrote a prolonged notice on X urging youthful staffers to talk up.
“We should admire our juniors,” he wrote, insisting that he was “only a cellphone name away” for individuals who need assistance managing their workloads.
His X profile bio states “be individual.”
Jefferies lately launched nameless surveys for younger bankers to supply suggestions on the highest executives working above them, sources instructed The Submit.
Two sources acquainted with the scenario mentioned the work atmosphere will be significantly demanding owing to the agency’s “onerous” bonus clawback coverage — which forces new employees to return 100% of their profitable windfall in the event that they depart for a rival funding financial institution throughout the first 12 months.
The clawback is steadily decreased over time, but it surely solely drops to zero after having labored on the agency for 4 years.
Profitable bankers will, after all, earn extra of these bonuses yearly.
The draconian coverage, written into the corporate’s work contracts, successfully prevents staffers from looking for one other banking job, the sources mentioned. Filings made by Jefferies describe the coverage as “strong.”
“You’ll be able to by no means depart except you might be fired,” mentioned one ex-Jefferies banker who was terminated lately. “It’s a tricky tradition as a result of a lot of the senior guys are caught there. Everybody in that agency operates in a state of worry, stress, and uneasiness.”
“I used to be continuously pushing again on false deadlines,” the supply added. “We’re not curing cancers so not every part must be performed tomorrow.”
One other insider with a deep information of Wall Road recruitment mentioned: “They’re in a no-win scenario. It’s like being a prisoner. General, it’s comparatively terrible. Persons are praying to get fired by Jefferies.”
The trade veteran singled out the financial institution’s know-how, media, and telecoms staff as recognized on Wall Road for being “poisonous.”
One supply who continues to be with the financial institution is already plotting an exit.
“I’m simply attempting to outlive this job, get it on my resume, and get out of right here,” the supply mentioned.