Quant trading firm hired a secret team to be more like a hedge fund
Vatic Investments, the quant trading firm with a self-proclaimed desire to be “the next Renaissance Technologies” has hired a new team to pursue stat arb trades and manage client money after its last head of statistical arbitrage trading left two years ago.
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Vatic declined to comment for this article, but it’s understood that the high frequency trading firm is making another foray into stat arb trading with client money after Allen Poteshman, whom it hired in 2021, left a year later. He’s now at Cubist.
Vatic is understood to have the new traders lined-up, but not yet in operation, possibly as a result of non-compete clauses. The individuals are moving as a team from their current employer.
The new hires follow various senior comings and goings at Vatic in the past year. Chief strategy officer Arvind Narayan left in September, and is now at hedge fund Balyasny. Edward Han left after seven months and has just appeared at Hudson Bay as chief operating officer (COO). COO Conrad Gann left after two years in October and appears to be out of the market. Chief technology officer
Over the same period, however, Vatic has hired a new chief investment officer, Rahim Esmailzadeh, from Magnetar, along with a new ‘chief business and strategy officer’, Abi Subramanian from GGA Private Capital.
The new hires suggest a new approach, although it’s understood that the team of mystery stat arb traders will work alongside the existing high frequency trading team rather than replace them.
Vatic currently has a single office in New York City. Subramanian is thought to have his eye on international expansion, although the firm has been talking about this for a while.
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