Citadel has just hired this senior Goldman Sachs derivatives trader

A senior Goldman Sachs trader who has been working for the bank since graduating over 12 years ago, has just made the jump to the buy-side.

Travis Chmelka, a managing director in equity derivatives trading at Goldman Sachs in New York, has just joined Citadel as a portfolio manager. Chmelka worked at Goldman Sachs since graduating with a degree in economics from Columbia University.

Citadel has been building its team and making some senior hires from investment banks’ markets businesses – as well as other hedge funds – as it continues to expand.

For Goldman, this is another senior equities trading exit in recent months. Peter Selman, its former global head of equity derivatives who was latterly co-head of global equities trading and execution services in New York, retired last year.

Meanwhile, Dirk Urmoneit, a managing director in Goldman’s equity derivatives trading team, has joined J.P. Morgan in a similar role. In the middle of last year, J.P. Morgan also poached Jason Cuttler, the former head of Goldman’s tactical equity derivative strategy team.

It’s been a poor start for the equity derivatives desks of investment banks this year, but this follows a difficult 2016. According to figures from research firm Coalition, revenues on the top investment banks’ equity derivatives desks were down by 21% year-on-year to $12.8bn – the smallest figure since 2012.

Contact: pclarke@efinancialcareers.com

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