Key Takeaways
- • Millennium Management, the $95 billion firm founded by Izzy Englander, is losing two more credit trading pods: the Abacove Capital pod led by Dominick Maggio and Amit Agrawal, and the Twin Lights pod led by Mark Meenan and David Ulrich, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Hedgeweek.
- • At least five Brevan Howard credit portfolio managers, including Simon Gee, Jenna Collins, Adam Steer, Chris Watson and David Heinau, have left the $35 billion firm, per Hedgeweek citing Bloomberg.
- • Millennium declined 2.3% in October, trimming its year-to-date gain to 5.7%; Brevan Howard's Alpha Strategies Fund lost about 1% in October, erasing its 2026 gains, while the flagship Brevan Howard Master fund returned 0.4% and is down 0.2% year to date.
- • European high-yield spreads have widened to levels last seen during the 2009 financial crisis, driven by AI infrastructure financing concerns, elevated interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty.
- • Hedgeweek characterizes the simultaneous credit losses at two of the largest multistrategy platforms as evidence of industry-wide pressure rather than firm-specific issues.
Summary
Two of the largest multistrategy hedge fund platforms are losing credit talent simultaneously. According to people familiar with the matter cited by Hedgeweek, Millennium Management, the $95 billion firm founded by Izzy Englander, is losing two more credit trading pods. Dominick Maggio and Amit Agrawal, who ran the Abacove Capital pod, and Mark Meenan and David Ulrich of the Twin Lights pod are departing. The reasons have not been disclosed. The exits follow Millennium's withdrawal of capital from credit-focused manager Axebrook Capital and the departure of senior credit trader Manav Gupta, less than six months after he moved his own hedge fund onto the platform. Millennium declined 2.3% in October, trimming its year-to-date gain to 5.7%.
At Brevan Howard, at least five credit portfolio managers have left the $35 billion firm, according to Hedgeweek citing Bloomberg. The departing managers are Simon Gee, Jenna Collins, Adam Steer, Chris Watson and David Heinau. Credit trading head Andy Silver is stepping back into an advisory role, a transition the Bloomberg report describes as unrelated to the latest exits. Brevan Howard's Alpha Strategies Fund lost about 1% in October, erasing its gains for the year, while the flagship Brevan Howard Master fund returned 0.4%, leaving it down 0.2% year to date.
The departures occur against a strained credit backdrop. Concerns over AI infrastructure financing, elevated interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty have pushed European high-yield spreads to levels last seen during the 2009 financial crisis, according to Hedgeweek. Business Insider noted that multistrategy funds typically turn over roughly 20% of their portfolio managers in an average year, and that the pace of losses and departures in October and early November has been unusual even by that standard.
Hedgeweek noted that the volatility is making it harder for multistrategy funds to expand credit trading while maintaining strict risk controls. For allocators, the simultaneous losses of credit teams at two of the largest platforms in the same week suggest industry-wide pressure rather than firm-specific problems. Key open questions include whether the platforms backfill or shrink credit capacity, and whether departing teams resurface as standalone launches or at rival platforms.
At Brevan Howard, at least five credit portfolio managers have left the $35 billion firm, according to Hedgeweek citing Bloomberg. The departing managers are Simon Gee, Jenna Collins, Adam Steer, Chris Watson and David Heinau. Credit trading head Andy Silver is stepping back into an advisory role, a transition the Bloomberg report describes as unrelated to the latest exits. Brevan Howard's Alpha Strategies Fund lost about 1% in October, erasing its gains for the year, while the flagship Brevan Howard Master fund returned 0.4%, leaving it down 0.2% year to date.
The departures occur against a strained credit backdrop. Concerns over AI infrastructure financing, elevated interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty have pushed European high-yield spreads to levels last seen during the 2009 financial crisis, according to Hedgeweek. Business Insider noted that multistrategy funds typically turn over roughly 20% of their portfolio managers in an average year, and that the pace of losses and departures in October and early November has been unusual even by that standard.
Hedgeweek noted that the volatility is making it harder for multistrategy funds to expand credit trading while maintaining strict risk controls. For allocators, the simultaneous losses of credit teams at two of the largest platforms in the same week suggest industry-wide pressure rather than firm-specific problems. Key open questions include whether the platforms backfill or shrink credit capacity, and whether departing teams resurface as standalone launches or at rival platforms.
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