Citadel, the $64bn multi-strategy hedge fund major, has ramped up its Asia fundamental equities team to more than 60 employees in just over three years, with the latest additions – Portfolio Managers Doris Yang and Jerry Jiang – set to join early next year, according to a report by the Business Times.
The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the firm’s operations as highlighting that their appointments will bring the number of investment pods operating within the region to nine.
Citadel declined to comment on the hires.
Yang and Jiang previously worked at Point72 as portfolio managers. Yang, who also held roles at Man Group’s GLG Partners, will focus on Chinese equities at Citadel, while Jiang, who has experience at Millennium and FIL Investment Advisors, will specialise in technology, media, communications, and consumer industries.
Despite its rapid expansion in the region, Citadel is taking a more measured approach to hiring in Asia, adding fewer teams than competitors such as Millennium Management, Balyasny Asset Management, and Point72 Asset Management. The firm has focused on strategic hires, such as Kewalramani – a former Asia head at Balyasny – and his predecessor Avinash Abraham, who previously worked at Citadel.
Other notable hires include Cathy Xie, a China-focused portfolio manager who joined in June after nearly a decade at Marshall Wace, while Arnab Nandi, a former Balyasny portfolio manager, is expected to start at Citadel’s Singapore office later this year. Nandi’s investment career has spanned TPG-Axon Capital Management, FIL, Myriad Asset Management, and Oxbow Capital Management in Hong Kong.