Hutchin Hill founder Neil Chriss to build quant team at Millennium

Neil Chriss, founder of recently-defunct hedge fund Hutchin Hill Capital, isn’t going to be sitting on the sidelines for very long. The famed mathematician is joining Millennium Capital Management.

Chriss, who shuttered Hutchin Hill at the end of last year after three years of poor performance, posted a message on LinkedIn late Friday afternoon indicating that he will be partnering with Millennium to build a new quant trading business. Chriss said he is set to join the hedge fund in September.

A former quant within Goldman Sachs’ asset management division, Chriss first made a name for himself at age 11 when he programmed, developed and sold off his own video game. He left Goldman in 2000 to found derivatives trading firm ICor Brokerage, which was eventually sold to Reuters after a brief joint-venture.

Chriss then joined Steven Cohen’s SAC Capital, now Point72 Asset Management, where he worked from 2003 to 2007 before founding Hutchin Hill with $300 million in backing from Renaissance Technologies. Hutchin Hill posted several years of strong performances before the last three. Chriss noted in his parting letter to clients in November that the fund returned a net cumulative 83% since its launch date in 2008.

Chriss is a founding member of the charity organization Math for America and is on the board at the Institute for Advanced Study. He has written several influential books and papers on economics and the market. Chriss said in his post on LinkedIn that he will be building out a team, so expect more hires to follow. Several Hutchin Hill vets have already found work, however. ExodusPoint Capital Management, the largest hedge fund startup ever, has hired away several former Hutchin Hill quants and technologists.

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