Jefferies Financial Group is adding more than a dozen traders to build out its outsourced trading desk, particularly in fixed income, amid a boom in demand from hedge funds and other asset managers, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The hiring spree follows UBS Group’s surprise exit from outsourced trading earlier this year, creating an opening that firms including Jefferies, Clear Street, and Cantor Fitzgerald are racing to fill. Jefferies has already brought on nine new traders and plans eight more, aiming to complement its long-standing equities desk with fixed-income coverage.
Hedge funds – traditionally reliant on internal teams – are increasingly turning to outsourced platforms to access new geographies, extend trading hours, or even replace their own desks entirely. For smaller or mid-sized funds, outsourcing provides connectivity to major counterparties like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, without the overhead of running full in-house infrastructure.
Clear Street has poached UBS veterans to build its new outsourced desk, expecting headcount to hit 20 within 18 months. Meanwhile, Cantor Fitzgerald is eyeing expansion into crypto outsourced trading, already in early talks with asset managers. Marex Group recently opened a Dubai desk focused on servicing hedge funds and family offices, citing a capital-rich client base eager for plug-and-play infrastructure.
A 2024 State Street survey shows hedge funds and other institutional investors are leaning heavily into outsourcing for FX and derivatives execution, with nearly three-quarters expressing plans to do so for currency trading, and 67% for derivatives.
