US hedge funds are bidding up pay in Hong Kong

Multistrategy US hedge funds are bidding up for talent in Hong Kong, while big banks are on the hunt for macro talent as a select number of funds are enjoying a bumper year on the back of market volatility. 

A select number of hedge funds are on a tear in Asia, and are hiring aggressively in Hong Kong, driving up pay for top performers. Citadel the hedge fund and Citadel Securities, the market maker, are both hiring. So too is Jane Street and in some cases pay is up by 50%, according to a Hong Kong-based headhunter. This in turn is forcing banks to pay up for talent. “Hedge funds have been taking traders away and banks need to fill the gaps,” the headhunter added.

Bluecrest and Millennium are also said to be among those hiring on the back of strong performance thanks to diverse trading strategies.

A report by Bloomberg says that large global and regional funds have been on a hiring spree, with Schonfeld Strategic Advisors adding more than 30 staff this year, while ExodusPoint Capital Management has increased Asian headcount by 75 people.

It’s rare for funds to hire staff at this time of year given the proximity of bonuses, but hedge funds are bucking this trend. This month, for example, Schonfeld hired Rui Fang as a portfolio manager from AM Squared, where he was head of quantitative strategies, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

Meanwhile funds have also been poaching talent from investment banks, like Allen Jin, who joined Exoduspoint in the summer as an investment analyst from Jefferies.  Meanwhile, Kin Hang Wu joined as a trader from Haitong International.

In May, Millennium hired Chloe Lam as an equity trader from Jefferies. “Banks will fight back and that will push salaries up more once recruitment kicks off again,” the headhunter said. 

Click here to create a profile on eFinancialCareers. Comment anonymously on articles and make yourself visible to recruiters hiring for top jobs in technology and finance. 

Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: sbutcher@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance. Whatsapp/Signal/Telegram also available (Telegram: @SarahButcher)

Bear with us if you leave a comment at the bottom of this article: all our comments are moderated by human beings. Sometimes these humans might be asleep, or away from their desks, so it may take a while for your comment to appear. Eventually it will – unless it’s offensive or libelous (in which case it won’t.)

Photo: eFinancialCareers/Hugging Face