Super-popular ex-Barclays MD hired a Goldman VP for his new fund

Remember Johnny Wu? He's the former Barclays managing director and sales-head who emphasized the need to be likable and caring when you work in finance before leaving Barclays in 2017. We reported in May that he's opening a new fund, Plinth Capital. Now Wu is hiring for Plinth ahead of its launch on November 1st 2019.

Given that Wu spent twelve and a half years at Barclays, it might be presumed he'd turn to his old employer for his new hire. But this isn't the case. - Wu's latest recruit is Arman Ahsaei, a vice president (VP) level equity derivatives structurer at Goldman Sachs and graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ahsaei is understood to be leaving Goldman today after resigning earlier this month. Wu is also understood to be hiring a portfolio manager who will join in October.

Plinth is expected to launch with $100m in assets under management. The fund will follow a volatility arbitrage strategy with a focus on partnering with investment banks on risk recycling transactions. "With the addition of Arman Ahsaei, the Plinth team is well positioned to capitalize on these [volatility arbirtage] opportunities," said Wu, stressing the team's experience in originating and manufacturing the retail structured products that are now being offloaded to hedge funds.

Photo by David Clarke on Unsplash

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