Point72 Nabs Goldman’s Repo Trading Head to Build Macro Unit

(Bloomberg) -- Alex Blanchard, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s head of repo trading, is set to join billionaire Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management -- the second defection to the money manager to emerge in a matter of weeks.

Blanchard will join the hedge fund as a portfolio manager in its macro trading team later this year. A spokeswoman for Stamford, Connecticut-based Point72 confirmed the hire on Friday.

Mohammed Grimeh, Point72’s new global head of macro, recruited Blanchard as he builds out his group. Last month, the firm announced the addition of Andrew DiMaria, who led the U.S. government bond trading team at Goldman Sachs.

Cohen’s $16 billion Point72 is rapidly building out the division under Grimeh at a time of heightened volatility that has renewed interest in macro trading groups for their ability to make money by navigating the tumult. Wall Street trading desks have been minting money in one of their best two quarters in a long time. That has ironically left the banks vulnerable to seeing their top traders get poached away by deep pocketed hedge funds.

Blanchard’s move is especially notable as it comes just months before Goldman names its new class of partners, the firm’s highest title. The trader’s success in the repo trading and short-term rates business would have made him a likely candidate for the elevation.

Hedge funds may also be paying up for traders instead of waiting for them to cash their year-end checks before hiring them. For some, the bet could also revolve around the ability to pounce on the extreme price swings and make money in their new seats. Traders likely stand to reap much better paydays from the new roles, instead of staying on the sell-side desks, where the upside is likely capped.

Blanchard had taken on a more prominent role at Goldman in recent months, not just in making money from the gyrations but also as a regular presence on client calls during the volatility that swept markets in March. The coronavirus pandemic had upended markets and Blanchard had warned the firm’s trading partners this was one of the worst conditions they had ever endured.

As markets normalized, his business came out on top and the group was among several across the firm’s trading business that raked in big gains. Blanchard was a Goldman lifer having joined the firm almost 20 years to the day after graduating from Durham University in 2000, industry records show.

At Point72, Grimeh has been snapping up portfolio managers from rival hedge funds as well after starting out at Cohen’s firm earlier this year, replacing Sara Vavra.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.