Hedge fund set up by ex-Bridgewater exec has hired a new head of quant research from Tudor Investment Corp

Tudor Investment Corporation may be shifting its approach to computer-driven tools that imitate its best portfolio managers after cutting 15% of its headcount last year, but a senior quant at the firm has left for a major new role at a hedge fund started by a former Bridgewater Associates executive.

Jean Gabriel Prince has joined Marto Capital as head of quantitative research after nearly two years at Tudor. He was brought in as a senior quantitative researcher at Paul Tudor Jones’ hedge fund, to develop a macro trading strategy in Python, and developed a systematic macro trading strategy during his time there.

Prince was let go by Tudor earlier this year and has just resurfaced at Marto Capital, a hedge fund launched in 2015 by Katina Stefenova, who worked at Bridgewater Associates in various senior roles over the course of nine years at the firm. Despite kicking off two years ago, Marto Capital only started managing external capital after a $100m cash injection in March, according to Institutional Investor.

Prince moved to New York for his role at Tudor, having previously spent eight years at BlackRock as a volatility strategy portfolio manager within its $15bn absolute return multi-asset fund.

Suffice to say, as more hedge funds move across to a systematic approach and embrace the use of huge quantities of third-party data in their investment process, quant skills are in demand. Last month, Point 72 Asset Management hired Jerrell Watts, the former head of algorithmic execution and order routing at Citadel, as its new head of algorithmic trading.

Marto says that it takes a systematic approach, drawing on Stefenova’s experience in technology at Bridgewater, and uses “science and technology to redesign the investment process”.

It has around 30 employees, and has been hiring this year since generating external capital. Anna Titarchuk-Berman, a former director at Credit Suisse and strategist at Trend Capital Management, joined in July and Marco Gancitano joined as a quantitative analyst in June.

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