Top macro hedge fund manager quits Zug for London

He's back. Alessandro Cipollini has seemingly decided that two years in the sleepy town of Zug, Switzerland, are enough for any man. As of this month, he's in London again.

A Cambridge and Bocconi graduate, Cipollini has spent most of his career working in the City and all of his career trading rates. He's returned from Switzerland to work for Markham Rae, the fixed income hedge fund set up in 2010 as a spin-out from BNP Paribas' macro-focused prop trading team. Cipollini worked for Markham Rae previously, between 2011 and 2013 before quitting for Capstone Investment Advisors. He rejoins as a senior discretionary portfolio manager with a focus on macro/relative G10 rates trading and volatility - active areas now.

While some hedge funds are forever adding new staff and eliminating existing ones, headcount at Markham Rae has been remarkably stable. The FCA Register suggests the fund has only hired two people since January 2014, and one of those is Cipollini. Most fund managers have worked there solidly since 2010. This might have something to do with Markham Rae's tight and profitable structure: 11 partners more than doubled gross profits to £11.6m in the year to March 2016 according to filings with Companies House. 

Cipollini spent his Zug years at Argentière Capital, the hedge fund set up in 2013 by J.P. Morgan’s former global head of prop trading Deepak Gulati. Gulati successfully lured several London traders to Argetière last year, despite claims that the town is small but boring. Now he might need to lure another one.

Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com