Balyasny Asset Management Shifts Gears

About four months after Balyasny Asset Management announced the elimination of about 125 positions, the hedge fund said top quantitative analyst Paul Chambers was leaving after a little more than a year on the job.

Balyasny went all-in on quantitative analysis in 2017, but is now shifting gears after a disastrous 2018.

Changing Course 

Balyasny committed to tripling its allocation to computer-driven trading back in 2017 as part of its shift to more deeply emphasize quant strategies.

The fund’s staff expanded from 69 employees at the end of 2016 to 92 employees within a year’s time.

Adding Chambers was seemingly part of that strategy, but Balyasny is now changing course quickly.

In December, the fund said it was laying off at least 125 people, representing about 20% of its total payroll, including 13 stock-picking teams.

The news came after the fund’s assets dropped by $4 billion last year to $7 billion; founder Dmitry Balyasny closed his best ideas fund in October due to poor performance.

Balyasny is assuring investors it is reloading its guns, with 10 new hires so far in 2019, poaching six hires from Citadel.

Among the new hires are two junior quants that will be added to the Balyasny systematic team, according to Business Insider.

Strong 2019 For Funds 

Company insiders have also said Balyasny will continue to use Chambers’ equity strategy while adding new talent to the mix.

Hedge funds got off to a strong start to 2019, posting 5.9% overall gains through the first three months of the year. That performance represented the best quarter for hedge funds since the third quarter of 2009, but it still lagged the 13% overall gain for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF SPY during that time.

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