In theory, Point72 doesn’t think traders from banks are up to much. Jonathan Jones, head of investment talent development for the family office-turning hedge fund set up by trading “legend” Steve Cohen, said last month that Point72 has to put the people it hires from banks through additional training because banks’ own training programmes are so superficial. This applies as much to people who’ve spent a year in banking as to those who’ve spent five years, Jones said.
This being the case, it seems likely that Maxime Millot, a former rates trader from Morgan Stanley, is undergoing a process of reeducation.
Millot has joined Point72 several weeks after Morgan Stanley paid its bonuses. After three years as a euro swaps trader at the U.S bank, he’ll work on Point72’s relative value desk in London.
Millot’s move comes as Point72 is soliciting applications for its exclusive “Academy 2.0” training programme for experienced traders. Analysts and associates from investment banks are sought. Millot, it seems, is the latter. Places on Academy 2.0 are hard to come by – since it was launched last year, it’s only admitted five people globally. However, Will Tovey, the head of Point72’s London office, says the fund has already amassed 60 people across all ranges of experience in London – exceeding its initial aim of 50 by the end of 2018, with more hires in the city to come.
Point72 pays generously. The average non-partner level employee received $251k (£178k) in London for 2016, the last year for which figures are available. Now could be a good time to join. Cohen’s ban on outside capital expired on 1 January and Point72 now incorporates Stamford Harbor, a new fund set up last year by Cohen with an alleged target of raising up to $11bn in outside capital. When Morgan Stanley announced its fourth quarter results for 2017 last month, CFO Jonathan Pruzan said the macro business was largely responsible for a 31% quarter-on-quarter decline in the bank’s fixed income revenues.
Millot isn’t Point72’s only hire from banks this year. Last month, the fund recruited Jakob Berry from Berenberg as an equity research analyst.
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