Key Takeaways
- • Balyasny Asset Management (BAM) is thought to have hired James Armstrong, managing director and head of euro swaps trading at Barclays in London, following his resignation last week, according to multiple sources cited by eFinancialCareers.
- • Armstrong, who joined Barclays as an intern in 2012 and spent his entire career there, is expected to join a London pod at Balyasny run by James Watson, a former lead portfolio manager at Millennium.
- • Nico Huss, also from Barclays' same team, is thought to have joined Citi, which declined to comment.
- • The moves come as Balyasny continues a broader 2025 hiring drive in London and globally, including Jamie Mansell, former head of European government bond trading at Deutsche Bank.
- • Barclays' European rates trading is one of the teams being mobilized to help lift the bank's revenues by £500 million by 2026, per Bloomberg.
Summary
Balyasny Asset Management is thought to have hired James Armstrong, a managing director and the head of euro swaps trading at Barclays in London, according to multiple sources cited by eFinancialCareers. The report says Armstrong's resignation from Barclays came last week and that BAM is behind the departure. Balyasny declined to comment, while Barclays and Armstrong did not respond to requests for comment.
Armstrong spent his entire career at Barclays after joining as an intern in 2012. He is reportedly set to join a London pod at Balyasny led by James Watson, a former lead portfolio manager at Millennium.
The report also says Nico Huss, from the same Barclays team, is thought to have left for Citi, which declined to comment. The timing is described as coincidental.
The hires fit into a wider pattern of Balyasny recruitment in 2025, with other recent recruits including Jamie Mansell, formerly head of European government bond trading at Deutsche Bank. The article notes that Barclays is cutting costs while keeping its rates trading team as an area of focus, and that Bloomberg reported European rates trading is among the teams being mobilized to help boost Barclays' revenues by £500 million by 2026.
Armstrong spent his entire career at Barclays after joining as an intern in 2012. He is reportedly set to join a London pod at Balyasny led by James Watson, a former lead portfolio manager at Millennium.
The report also says Nico Huss, from the same Barclays team, is thought to have left for Citi, which declined to comment. The timing is described as coincidental.
The hires fit into a wider pattern of Balyasny recruitment in 2025, with other recent recruits including Jamie Mansell, formerly head of European government bond trading at Deutsche Bank. The article notes that Barclays is cutting costs while keeping its rates trading team as an area of focus, and that Bloomberg reported European rates trading is among the teams being mobilized to help boost Barclays' revenues by £500 million by 2026.
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