Polar Asset Management Partners, one of Canada’s leading hedge funds, is advancing its growth strategy with a London office and a 15% increase in headcount since early last year, according to a report by Reuters.
Over the past year, the firm has expanded its team across various strategies, including commodities, equities, fixed income, and credit.
Notable hires include Anna Litman Correa, a Portfolio Manager with over a decade of experience trading natural gas at Citigroup, and Mickael Soussant, a Commodity Risk Director.
Polar’s flagship multistrategy fund delivered an 8.6% return in 2024, its best performance since 2020. The Toronto-based manager, overseeing $6.3bn in assets, intends to continue growing across all strategies and offices, according to sources.
This expansion focuses on driving returns while enhancing technology, risk management, and treasury infrastructure. In October, Polar hired Nikita Naychukov from Toronto-Dominion Bank as Director of Treasury, according to his LinkedIn profile.
As of last year, Polar employed approximately 160 people, with 126 based in Canada and the rest split between London and New York. To support its London office, which opened in the fall, the firm brought on Owen Sharkie as the UK-based director of business development and talent.
The multistrategy hedge fund industry saw mostly double-digit gains in 2024, buoyed by strong performance across asset classes. Many major funds have turned to commodities to capitalise on heightened volatility in markets like natural gas and power.
Polar has also prioritised infrastructure growth, making key hires to expand its data engineering and data science capabilities. These efforts include developing AI-driven tools and collaborating with investment teams globally across asset classes.
Additionally, the firm raised $300m last year for a fund focused on synthetic risk transfers – a fast-growing segment of the credit market that allows banks to offload portions of their loan exposure.
