Edward Eisler's hot new $1bn hedge fund paid its staff close to £500k last year

Eisler Capital, the $1bn macro hedge fund set up by former Goldman Sachs partner turned philanthropist Edward Eisler in late 2015, has been attracting some big names since it set up nearly two years ago. Are they worth it?

Maybe so. The hedge fund has just released its first accounts ever accounts, for the year ended 31 December 2016, and has already turned a profit. After a loss of £685k for the few months it operated in 2015, Eisler Capital made over £7m last year from revenues of £16.5m.

Eisler remains a small operation and, after a flurry of recruitment in early 2016 when former Goldman Sachs MDs Cary Memeth and Andrew Deeley joined in senior roles, new hires have been rare.

It had 13 employees last year, and paid out £6.2m – or an average payment per head of £476k. In 2015, it had two employees and paid them £215k in total.

Eisler himself is the only listed director of the company, which said that it paid out £2m to its ‘senior management team’ last year. This was up from £56.2k in 2015.

So far this year, Eisler has made just two significant hires. It brought in Eleanor Franchitti, the former head of European investor relations at Bluecrest Capital Management, joined in January while former Credit Suisse trader and Capula Investment Management portfolio manager, joined as a trader in June.

Eisler was co-head of Goldman Sachs’ securities division and worked at the bank for 17 years before retiring in 2012. He set up an emerging markets private equity fund called DMC Partners shortly after with some big banking names including Sam Wisnia, who now runs Deutsche Bank’s macro business, and former Lazard chairman Ken Costa. But the company closed in 2014 before it raised its first fund.

Contact for news, tips and comments: pclarke@efinancialcareers.com

Image: Getty Images