A fierce and intensifying war for top trading talent is reshaping the landscape of elite hedge fund hiring, with compensation packages offered by leading multi-manager hedge funds now exceeding $100m, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
At the centre of the latest hiring frenzy was Kevin Liu, a young tech-focused stock picker previously at Marshall Wace, who recently became one of Wall Street’s most sought-after recruits. Liu was eventually signed by Point72 early this year after a heated bidding battle with Citadel, Millennium, and Balyasny Asset Management. Industry sources likened the scramble for Liu to an art auction at Christie’s, with Steve Cohen himself stepping in to seal the deal, offering mentorship and a five-year contract reportedly worth tens of millions.
“We’re seeing a lot of firms competing for great talent—no different than baseball,” said Cohen at a January investment conference, echoing his comments shortly after signing baseball star Juan Soto for $765 million to the New York Mets, which he owns.
This aggressive pursuit reflects the operational structure of today’s multi-manager hedge funds, which allocate vast pools of capital across decentralised pods or teams. Each team operates semi-autonomously, deploying billions in capital and expected to deliver consistent, low-volatility returns. The bar is high: where once a $1bn book was impressive, top PMs are now managing up to $5bn, often under significant pressure and performance scrutiny.
Notable examples abound. Stephen Schurr, a former journalist turned standout investor, generated $250m in profits at Balyasny in 2024, up from $150m the year prior. He was promptly poached by Millennium this spring with a multimillion-dollar guaranteed deal tied to future performance – one of many such structured offers that typically include upfront compensation, performance-based carry, and team hiring budgets.
The performance demands are relentless. At Millennium, for instance, portfolio managers face termination if their losses exceed 7.5%, contributing to an annual PM turnover rate of 15–20%. The job often means 14-hour days, tracking corporate earnings with surgical precision and managing idiosyncratic risk rather than riding broad market trends.
These lucrative deals don’t come cheap for investors. Top multimanager firms now pass along total expenses – known as “pass-through” fees – of up to 8% of assets annually, far above the industry’s traditional 2% management fee. This excludes the 20% performance fee, creating fee structures that would once have been unthinkable.
And yet, institutional allocators remain largely supportive, as long as net returns remain compelling. Over the three years to 2024, Citadel and Millennium delivered annualised net returns of 22% and 13%, respectively. “Everyone brings up the fees, but all I care about are net returns,” said Clinton Huff, senior investment officer at the Texas Tech University System.
Still, a few hiccups in 2025 – when firms like Millennium experienced brief losses during a broader market drawdown – highlight the risks of such high-cost models should performance falter.
With only a limited number of traders capable of delivering short-term alpha under pressure, talent circulates frequently. It’s not unusual for PMs to rotate through Millennium, Citadel, Balyasny, and Point72, sometimes completing the full circuit.
In a recent example of hedge fund musical chairs, Brian Palans was hired by Millennium from Citadel, only to be intercepted by Balyasny before his sit-out period ended. He joined Balyasny without ever working a day at Millennium.
Multi-manager platforms often win over prospective fund founders by offering full operational support—from compliance and tech infrastructure to capital raising—allowing PMs to focus solely on investing. But for top-tier recruits, even more autonomy may be on offer.
Peter Goodwin for example, formerly of Point72, joined Balyasny in 2023 to run his own internal multi-manager unit, Longaeva Partners, named after a species of long-lived pine tree. The firm is seeded entirely by Balyasny and is expected to manage up to $15bn (with leverage), a scale far beyond what most startups could hope to raise independently.
