Darren Upton has joined alternative investment manager International Standard Asset Management (ISAM) as Head of Research.

 
Upton will report into Alex Greyserman, CIO of ISAM Systematic. He will be leading the development of new systems and markets, and responsible for the maintenance and ongoing improvements to ISAM’s existing systems as well as developing algorithms for execution to preserve low levels of trading costs. Most recently Darren worked for Man Group as Head of Research Methodology, where he led an extensive group of researchers in developing trading models, portfolio construction and execution methods which form the AHL trading system.  Darren started in the finance industry 15 years ago, the last nine of which were spent working for AHL, one of the world’s largest CTAs. He also has extensive academia experience and holds a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Cambridge, where he was awarded the Cambridge University Smith Knight Prize in 2002.
 
Stanley Fink (pictured), CEO of ISAM, says: “Having seen what Darren achieved at Man Group, I am confident that he will make a significant contribution to the growth of ISAM. Most importantly, it was clear from the very early meetings with Darren that he shared many of the same values that are important to us at ISAM, such as optimising performance by controlling capacity. He clearly believes in the purity and durability of trend following as a methodology and has a strong background in research into many different systems. His appointment reflects the investment we are making in building the ISAM in-house research capabilities to ensure our research and risk management remains innovative and industry leading.”
 
Upton says: “ISAM is a growing and exciting asset business, with an experienced team and notable track record. I am looking forward to contributing my own experience to a team with such high credentials, as we look to further develop ISAM's competitive offering. It is clear that ISAM has established a world leading CTA business and I am privileged to be in a position to lead and enhance their research effort.”
 
In addition ISAM has recently hired Jack Weiner and Ian Moreton. Weiner joins ISAM as Head of US Sales from QFS where he was Head of Sales for four years, while Moreton joins ISAM Fusion as a portfolio risk manager from Man Group where he was Head of Product Engineering. There have also been additional research hires in London and New York.