Blue Blood: Cazenove in the Age of Global Banking

Blue Blood is a first-hand account by former Chief Executive Robert Pickering of how Cazenove & Co., the most prestigious stockbroking firm in the City of London, evolved from a private partnership into a modern investment bank. Pickering describes how it felt to manage an investment bank through a period of tumultuous change as he sought to define the firm’s future in an industry which was becoming increasingly dominated by huge international banks.

Founded in 1823, Cazenove & Co. was the most prestigious stockbroking firm in the City of London, celebrated for its fabled placing power and for its unrivalled network of client relationships. Fiercely independent, the firm had always maintained a low profile, shunning the press and refusing to disclose details of its own affairs or those of its clients. 

When Big Bang revolutionised the City in 1986, Cazenove was the only one of the major stockbroking partnerships to stand apart from the merger frenzy which followed, rejecting the conventional wisdom of the day and resolutely following its own path. So the City was stunned when, in November 2000, Cazenove announced that it would abandon its partnership structure, raise external capital and list its shares on the London Stock Exchange.

Robert Pickering led the firm, as Chief Executive, throughout this period, working closely with City legend David Mayhew, as the pair sought to define Cazenove’s future in an industry which was becoming increasingly dominated by huge international banks. 

Blue Blood is a first-hand account by a senior City insider of what it feels like to manage an investment bank through a period of tumultuous change and of the cultural differences between a private British firm and a hard-charging American bank. Full of insights and wisdom, Blue Blood is not only a compelling story about a City icon but also contains numerous anecdotes about the well-known City and Wall Street figures who the author met during the course of his long City career.