New York-headquartered multi-strategy hedge fund firm Walleye Capital has cut about a dozen positions mainly in its investment team, including Senior Portfolio Manager Michael Martin, who served as Head of Equity Capital Markets, according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites unnamed sources familiar with the matter as revealing that portfolio managers Lawrence Hurvich and Jerry Siliverdes, who focused on special purpose acquisition companies, have also left the business. Additionally, the closure of Walleye’s Houston office affected two more employees.
The departing employees, including two staff impacted by the closure of the firm’s Houston office, represent less than 3% of Walleye’s risk exposure, and the firm considers their related strategies as largely nonessential. However, the firm is planning to appoint a new Head of ECM in due course.
In a letter, CEO and CIO Will England wrote: “Given the turnover which Walleye has proactively and positively undertaken over the past 12 months, we are clearly very focused on selection. We are unapologetically pursuing the best individuals we can find to fill the seats in our boat, keeping in mind that the number of seats is fixed.”
The multi-strategy Walleye Opportunities Fund, which accounts for around $4.6bn of the firm’s total $6.7bn assets, has a projected net gain of 7.3% to 7.7% for the first seven months of the year, according to preliminary returns seen by Bloomberg. The firm has temporarily paused accepting new commitments for the fund until at least the end of this year.
