The brash new kid on the block this year was Michael Gelband, a former star trader at Millennium who reportedly left after a falling out with Izzy Englander (hence the name of his new firm, ExodusPoint).
He has hired aggressively to staff up his new venture, which broke raised a record-breaking $9 billion before its launch reportedly from the likes of Goldman Sachs, UBS, Blackstone and BlackRock.
As of the end of October, the firm manages $8.4 billion, according to a recent regulatory filing. Gelband brought over scores of past colleagues from both Millennium and Lehman Brothers, as well as recruiting a portfolio management team from the Man Group. Among those hires are Hyung Soon Lee, who is a co-founder of ExodusPoint with Gelband and the former head of equity at Millennium, and Jon Hoffman, former bond trading star at Lehman.
Gelband was in charge of the fixed income desk while at Millennium, but, similar to Englander, will not do any trading himself. And, as fee pressure continues to squeeze, managers, Exodus was able to set a fundraising record with a “pass-through” fee structure that puts investors on the hook for every cost including executives’ air travel, office furniture and “any extraordinary expenses of the funds,” according to a regulatory filing.
Since launching in early June, Gelband's fund has reportedly posted a return of roughly 1% through November.