(Bloomberg) -- Citadel, the hedge fund founded by billionaire Ken Griffin, has hired Elliott Investment Management partner Nabeel Bhanji in one of the industry’s top defections this year.
London-based Bhanji, 38, is leaving Elliott after more than a decade, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. A representative for Citadel confirmed Bhanji is joining, without providing details on his exact role.
Elliott is transitioning Bhanji’s managerial and investment responsibilities to other members of the team, it said in the memo. Gordon Singer, head of Elliott’s London office and son of the firm’s billionaire founder Paul Singer, will oversee Bhanji’s trades with other team members, people familiar with the matter said. Aaron Tai, who joined Elliott last year, will assist him on trades in Japan, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
Meanwhile, Elliott is promoting senior portfolio manager Samantha Algaze to become its first female partner, according to the memo. Algaze, who joined Elliott in 2013, was part of its Caesars Entertainment Inc. trades as well as trades related to a former McAfee cybersecurity unit, known as Magenta Buyer. She will continue to have a leadership role in Elliott’s credit investment team going forward.
Elliott is also appointing partners John Pike and Pat Frayne to the firm’s management committee, it said in the memo. Pike was involved in the campaign at Southwest Airlines Co., which resulted in the carrier adding six new board members. He’s also part of investments in NRG Energy Inc., Marathon Petroleum Corp., Suncor Energy Inc. and Hess Corp.
Bhanji, who joined the firm in 2012, was appointed as a partner earlier this year and has been helping build up its presence in Europe and Japan. He was involved in Elliott’s $1 billion investment in Anglo American Plc, which was targeted by mining giant BHP Group earlier this year.
Bhanji was also involved in the firm’s investments in nicotine pouch maker Swedish Match AB as well as German startup incubator Rocket Internet SE. He was a director of Toshiba Corp. before it was taken private.
A spokesperson for Elliott confirmed the contents of the memo. Following Bloomberg’s story on Bhanji’s departure, the Financial Times reported Citadel hired him, citing unidentified people.
Before joining Elliott, Bhanji worked in private equity at Apax Partners and was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. He attended the prestigious Westminster School in London before earning a master of arts degree in philosophy, politics and economics from Oxford University’s Balliol College. He also has a masters of business administration from Harvard Business School.
Elliott’s UK arm has more than 100 employees, according to its latest accounts filed with Companies House. The firm’s highest-paid executive in the country received almost £29 million ($37 million) last year.
Elliott is one of the world’s busiest activist investors. It has targeted companies including Phillips 66, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., Constellation Brands Inc. and Salesforce Inc. The firm has also waded into private equity-style investing, making a splash with deals such as the 2022 leveraged buyout of Citrix Systems Inc.
Top hedge fund managers like Citadel have been digging deeper into their wallets to attract top talent from the big banks as well as rival investment firms. Citadel earlier this year tapped Atte Lahtiranta, Goldman’s former chief technology officer, to run its core engineering group with responsibility for the technology underpinning its trading and risk functions.
--With assistance from Nishant Kumar.
(Updates throughout with more details.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.