Point72 Taps Blackstone Veteran for New Private Credit Effort

(Bloomberg) -- Point72 Asset Management hired Todd Hirsch, a former Blackstone Inc. senior managing director, as head of private capital.

Hirsch will report directly to Point72 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Steve Cohen when he joins next week to build out a new investing strategy primarily focused on private credit, according to a memo seen by Bloomberg News sent from Cohen to staff on Tuesday morning.

In the role, Hirsch will build and manage a portfolio of private credit and asset-based investments across technology, business services, health care and insurance companies, among other sectors, Cohen wrote in the memo.

“Private credit is now a rapidly growing $3 trillion market, and the demand continues to exceed supply as corporate lending, specialty finance, and asset-based finance shifts from banks and public markets towards private markets, creating favorable market conditions for this business,” Cohen, who also owns the New York Mets, said in the memo.

A Point72 representative confirmed the memo’s contents but declined to comment further.

Hirsch joined Blackstone in 2013 and most recently worked in the firm’s tactical opportunities group before leaving in October. He has worked on investments in companies including Aqua Finance Inc., North American Bancard, InComm Payments, Acrisure, PayPal Credit, Peridot Payments, YES Network, BTIG and HUB International, Blackstone’s website showed before his departure.

“We thank Todd for his contributions to the firm and wish him well in his future endeavors,” a spokesperson for Blackstone said.

Before joining Blackstone, Hirsch held roles at Deutsche Bank AG, including as the head of credit structuring, and Littlejohn & Co.

Point72, which oversees about $35.2 billion and employs more than 2,800 staff globally, mostly focuses on betting on and against stocks, but has built out a macro investing business in recent years. The firm also makes venture capital and growth equity investments. Last year, the firm gained 19%, Bloomberg News reported last week.