BFAM Partners, the Hong Kong and New York-based hedge fund firm founded by Benjamin Fuchs, has closed its London office after parting company with one of its most senior portfolio managers, Emmanuel Slezack, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites an email from BFAM as confirming the departure of Slezack who led equity volatility trading at the firm. His departure follows those of Eugene Fung and Danny Scinto, with all three having previously served as senior portfolio managers heading separate strategies under founder and CIO Fuchs.
At its peak, BFAM, which was founded in 2012, oversaw about $5 billion and recorded gains in each of its first nine years of trading. Problems with investment in Chinese real estate credit though, prompted by Beijing’s changing political and regulatory agenda, saw the firm rack up losses 11% and 26% in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Through a combination of losses and investor redemptions, the firm’s assets now stand at about one $1 billion.
BFAM’s hedge fund has returned about 7% this so far year, largely on the back of gains from Asian credit bets, according to an unnamed Bloomberg source.
