- Several leaders in Schonfeld’s technology and recruiting teams have recently exited.
- Among the departures include global head of infrastructure Vincent Aniello, a six-year veteran.
- Schonfeld has grown substantially in recent years. Its returns in 2022 and 2023 have lagged peers.
Several leaders of multi-strategy hedge fund Schonfeld Strategic Advisors’ technology and recruiting operations have exited the firm, according to people familiar with the matter.
One of the most recent departures is Vincent Aniello, who joined the firm in 2017 and served as global head of infrastructure, the people said. Steve Kordik, who headed up a team in North America responsible for supporting the trading technology platform, left in May.
The firm has had departures in recruiting as well, including Renee Kenas, head of infrastructure talent acquisition, and Radhika Arora, who joined the firm in 2019 and was promoted to head of enterprise technology talent acquisition earlier this year, according to her LinkedIn bio. Tom Burdo, director of front-office technology talent acquisition, left in June.
A spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment.
The exits come amid a protracted and substantial growth spurt for Schonfeld that hasn’t produced meaningful returns in 2022 or 2023 thus far.
Schonfeld, which manages about $13 billion in outside money, grew from some 600 employees in mid-2021 to around 860 at the end of 2022, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its headcount now exceeds 950, according to LinkedIn.
Schonfeld lagged behind multi-strategy rivals in 2022, returning 4.5% while the likes of Citadel, Millennium, and Point72 notched double-digit results. Schonfeld also trails most of its peers this year: Its flagship fund, which manages around $9 billion, was down slightly through mid-year while its fundamental equities unit was flat.
Schonfeld’s buildout has continued in 2023, though people familiar with the firm’s recruiting operations say its rapid-fire growth pace may finally be showing signs of slowing.
The firm has invested heavily in macro trading — which has been one of the worst-performing strategies across hedge funds this year — through a unit launched in 2021 and led by Colin Lancaster and Mitesh Parikh. It’s added several PMs this year in that division, including European head of credit Toby Kung from Macquarie and US head of investment grade credit Derry Herlihy.
In March it hired Goldman Sachs partner Riccardo Riboldi, who will join in September and build out a Delta One trading team, according to people familiar with the matter.
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