You've got to strike while the iron is hot. For Meredith Whitney, who used the financial crisis to storm her way to stardom has announced she will step down at Oppenheimer and start her own firm. Reuters says the name of the firm will bear her name. One fair question is what kind of firm will it be? I can't see her as a hedge fund manager, but who knows? A small fund that targets financial services companies may not be a horrible idea right now.

More than likely, the new firm will be some sort of independent research outfit. If so, she faces a long haul. While her opinions are respected, it's unclear how much the buyside will be willing to pay for it. She has a lot of decisions to make in terms of commissions agreements and soft dollars and such. She may need a treading arrangement. This will certainly be interesting. 

For more:
- here's the Reuters article

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