Citadel has hired a second London-based Portfolio Manager from rival Elliott Investment Management, signalling its potential shift towards adopting activist strategies, according to a report by the Financial Times.
Pawel Serej, who left Elliott in the summer, is set to join Citadel’s London team as an Event-Driven Portfolio Manager, with a focus on risk arbitrage, a strategy that involves betting on the successful completion of mergers and acquisitions.
Citadel declined to comment on the hire.
According to the report, this move follows news that Nabeel Bhanji, a senior portfolio manager and equity partner at Elliott, was appointed to a global leadership and investment role at Citadel last month.
Despite their shared background, Serej’s departure from Elliott occurred months before Bhanji’s, and the hires are unrelated, according to sources familiar with the matter. Serej is expected to begin at Citadel in mid-2025 after serving a 12-month gardening leave.
While Citadel has not traditionally been recognised for engaging in activist investing, the report says the addition of Bhanji and Serej hints that it may be looking to integrate activist strategies into its approach. The two had collaborated closely on several of Elliott’s high-profile activist campaigns, including those involving SoftBank, Swedish Match, and Toshiba. Other Elliot campaigns include major US companies such as Honeywell, Starbucks, and Southwest Airlines.
Citadel, founded in 1990, is now the most profitable hedge fund in the $4.5tn industry, with its flagship Wellington fund posting a 13.2% gain between January and November, according to investors. The firm manages $65bn in assets across various strategies, including commodities, credit, equities, and quantitative trading.
Elliott, based in Florida with a significant London office led by Gordon Singer, the son of founder Paul Singer, manages $70bn in assets. Bhanji and Serej are among several senior departures from Elliott’s London office in recent years.
