Citadel targets investment banks as it continues to expand in the UK

Most hedge funds are now turning to graduate recruitment programmes to develop junior talent. Citadel, however, is still hiring from investment banks.

Citadel has been building its senior ranks over the past 12 months. Diego Megia, the former head of European rates at RBC Capital Markets who signed up to Barclays in 2013, has just joined Citadel as a senior portfolio manager in its fixed income team. Earlier in February it also hired Virginie Saade as director of government and regulatory policy for Europe from KCG Holdings, while John Macdonald joined Citadel Securities as head of technology in Europe from J.P. Morgan in August.

Citadel has also been hiring lower down the ranks. A number of hedge funds have complained about the dearth of talent coming out of investment banks and have launched their own graduate programmes to combat this. But Citadel, like Bluecrest Capital Management, has continued to poach banks' juniors.

Jens Wauters, a former analyst within Morgan Stanley’s EMEA Media and Telecom investment banking division, has just joined as an associate on Citadel’s long-short hedge fund with a TMT focus. Yash Agarwal, who worked as an analyst for Moelis & Co’s M&A and restructuring team in New York, has moved to London as an associate on Citadel’s global equities team focused on consumer staples and beverages.

Citadel has also bolstered its quant team with the appointment of Vyomakesh Sridhar, who joined from BlueCrest Capital Management in January.

Citadel’s London headcount fluctuated throughout 2016, but it currently has 94 employees in the UK registered with the Financial Conduct Authority, up from 84 in January last year.

Contact: pclarke@efinancialcareers.com

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