Goldman Sachs' ex-MDs at Balyasny are on the move after a heavy week
If you leave an investment bank for a hedge fund, you must bear the consequences. Sometimes things go well. Sometimes they do not. And if they do not, patience can suddenly wear thin.
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It is not clear whether thinning patience was behind this week's unexpected departure of Damien Courvalin from hedge fund Balyasny Asset Management (BAM). BAM itself isn't commenting and Courvalin didn't respond to a request to explain his exit. His mysterious egress is a source of curiosity in the market given both BAM's reported 3.5% loss during the week through to March 6, and Courvalin's own pedigree.
Courvalin is something of a star. He joined Balyasny Asset Management in 2023 to lead a 'Commodities Intelligence Group' as the hedge fund built out its commodities business. Courvalin previously spent 16 years at Goldman Sachs in New York as the firm's combined head of energy research and a strategist covering everything from precious metals to agricultural research and commodities.
However, Courvalin wasn't BAM's only ex-Goldman guy. One year before he arrived there, BAM also hired another Goldman MD in the form of Dan Deighton who became its overall head of global commodities. Deighton himself spent 12 years at Goldman Sachs and was the firm's head of commodity index and agricultural products trading. At BAM, Courvalin reported to Deighton, even though Deighton's star was arguably less shiny than his own.
Now Courvalin is out and Deighton remains in his seat at BAM. It's not clear what's become of the fund's other ex-Goldman hires, including Callum Andrew Bruce who only joined Courvalin's team in November last year. Bloomberg reported yesterday that two other energy traders - Toby Sheppard and Max Iakovlev - also left BAM this week for reasons unknown. Iakovlev is another ex-Goldman MD.
Where will Courvalin and Iakovlev go next? Other hedge funds might like to hear from them; so too might their previous employer. They're unlikely to be the only hedge fund professionals on the move: it's been a difficult month, particularly in macro. "We're all down 5%," says the head of one top fund. "I don't think we will all make that back," he adds.
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