A hedge fund reportedly fired a trader because he was IMing another trader at Steve Cohen's firm
In the complaint, he claimed that he was fired "without cause" on June 4, 2014 after six months at Michael Platt's $14 billion firm.
Bloomberg News is now reporting that BlueCrest said they fired O'Grady for allegedly sharing information over instant message with a portfolio manager at Steve Cohen's Point72 Asset Management (formerly SAC Capital), according to unnamed sources familiar.
O'Grady, 36, used to work at Sigma Capital Management, a subsidiary SAC Capital. A spokesperson for Point72 Asset Management told Bloomberg News that there's "nothing improper about about communicating about trading positions after they occurred."
O'Grady was hired by BlueCrest in October 2013, shortly before SAC pleaded guilty.
In the summer of 2013, SAC was criminally indicted on insider trading charges. SAC pleaded guilty in November 2013 and agreed to pay a $1.8 billion fine. SAC also agreed to no longer manage outside capital and to operate as a "family office" instead. The fund then changed its name to Point72 Asset Management.
At BlueCrest, O'Grady was offered a base salary of $250,000 and his bonus would be 18% of his performance, Forbes reported citing the complaint. O'Grady's attorney, Jonathan Sack, told Bloomberg that he made the fund $9.2 million during his time at the fund.
He's currently a portfolio manager at Hudson Bay Capital. His current employer told Bloomberg they were aware that he was fired. They also said they were "satisfied" with his explanation for the termination.
We reached out to O'Grady's attorney for further comment. We will update as warranted.