Senior Millennium Management portfolio manager Farzad Kassam is preparing to launch his own hedge fund next year, with backing from Izzy Englander’s multi-strategy investment firm in the latest example of established platforms seeding new managers, according to a report by Bloomberg.
Kassam is expected to establish the new firm in Dubai, initially managing more than $1bn currently allocated to his macro strategy at Millennium, according to reports. The fund is expected to manage capital exclusively for Millennium at launch, with the potential to raise third-party assets after an initial incubation period.
The arrangement reflects a growing trend among the industry’s largest multi-manager hedge funds, which are increasingly supporting portfolio managers who want to establish independent firms while retaining access to their investment expertise through dedicated capital allocations.
Such seed investments have become a defining feature of the hedge fund landscape, enabling experienced traders to launch firms with significant assets under management from day one, while giving established allocators continued exposure to proven investment talent.
Millennium has been one of the most active firms pursuing this strategy. The $92bn multi-strategy hedge fund has built its business around recruiting and retaining leading investment professionals, operating more than 340 investment teams across global markets under a tightly controlled risk management framework.
The firm has also developed a track record of backing former portfolio managers as they establish independent businesses. Previous examples include Taula Capital Management, founded by former Millennium trader Diego Megia, and Echion Capital, launched by former portfolio manager Chaitanya Mehra.
Millennium has continued to post strong investment performance in 2026, generating a 4.1% return in June and taking gains for the first six months of the year to 10.5%, reinforcing its position as one of the industry’s leading multi-strategy hedge fund managers.
