Balyasny just booted its quant head and it signals a strategy revamp at the $6 billion hedge fund

Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Dmitry Balyasny is in the process of changing his systematic investing team, sources tell Business Insider, with the first big move being the removal of its head: Ulrich Brandt-Pollmann.
Brandt-Pollmann had been with the $6 billion hedge fund for a little over two years, and moved to the US this year after working in Balyasny’s London office.
The fund, which had to cut roughly a fifth of its staff at the end of last year due to poor performance, has had a solid 2019, returning 10.22% through the end of July and hiring 14 new portfolio managers, sources say.
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Despite a bounce-back performance in 2019, Balyasny Asset Management is revamping its quant team, and has dismissed its head of systematic strategies Ulrich Brandt-Pollmann.

The $6 billion hedge fund made the move this week, sources tell Business Insider, and there is the potential for more movement on the team.

The firm had hired Brandt-Pollmann from Credit Suisse in mid-2017, and moved him from its London office to the US this year. Previously, Brandt-Pollmann, who went to school in Germany, worked as a quant trader for Morgan Stanley, former high-frequency trading shop GETCO, and UBS.

The firm declined to comment. Brandt-Pollmann did not respond to requests for comment.

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The move comes as a surprise as Balyasny seemed to have found its footing after a difficult 2018 that ended with the firm laying off a fifth of its staff. Balyasny’s fund is up 10.22% through the end of July, besting the average hedge fund which is up roughly 8%, according to Hedge Fund Research.

The firm has also hired 14 new portfolio managers this year, sources close to the firm say, and as well as dozens of new analysts. The quant team earlier this year lost Paul Chambers, who co-led the equity strategy within the systematic team with Brandt-Pollmann.

Chambers returned to his previous firm, Man Group, as previously reported.

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