A J.P. Morgan equity analyst joined Balyasny Asset Management

Remember Balyasny Asset Management? It's the expansionary U.S. hedge fund that's been hiring from investment banks in London.  It's just hired an equities analyst from J.P. Morgan.

Xiao Lu joined Balyasny as an equity analyst this month after five years covering chemicals and luxury goods at JPM. A Cambridge University graduate with a first class degree in economics, she previously spent a couple of months working for the Bank of England.

Balyasny has been busy defying Brexit and adding staff in London as it attempts to become "the Amazon of hedge funds." Employees registered with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have gone from 48 to 54 since the Brexit vote last July. While most hedge funds now like to hire from other funds, Balyasny likes to hire from banks. As well as Lu, this year's recruits have included Simon Mangin, a former associate in Citi's TMT team, Daryl Lee, a former FX and rates trader from Morgan Stanley, Mukhtar Garadaghi, a Citi researcher, and Jeremy Andre, a Goldman fund derivatives trader in February.

There have been exits too. - Macro portfolio manager Colin Lancaster quit for Citadel (where he's building a new macro trading unit) earlier this month and equity portfolio manager Omar Itani has left the London office according to the FCA.

Balyasny is a big payer. Compensation per head in London was £624k ($818k) in 2016. This could be why Lu joined - that and the uncertainty facing sell-side equity analysts as MiFID II looms into view.

Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com