Tudor said to close Singapore trading desk amid global job cuts

SINGAPORE — Tudor Investment Corp, the US$11 billion (S$15 billion) hedge fund founded by billionaire Paul Tudor Jones, has closed its Singapore trading desk as part of a global shakeup, according to people familiar with the matter.

The firm still has staff in Singapore focusing on quantitative research, and continues to add such developers, said one of the people, who requested anonymity because the move hasn’t been publicly disclosed. Tudor had employed about 10 people in Singapore before it closed the trading desk, said the person, who declined to say how many people remain in the office.

Tudor dismissed 15 per cent of its workforce last month while accelerating its focus on quantitative research, as hedge funds have struggled to navigate markets since the global financial crisis. Quant funds, some of which have outperformed human traders after correctly anticipating market shocks such as Brexit, are gaining in popularity even as traditional hedge funds have suffered the biggest investor redemptions this year since 2009.

Among the industry’s oldest hedge fund managers, Greenwich, Connecticut-based Tudor cut jobs after clients pulled more than US$2 billion this year amid lackluster returns. The cuts were focused on money managers that had posted losses or failed to post profit, people familiar with the matter said last month. Tudor’s main fund lost 3.2 percent this year through Sept 9, according to an investor document.

A spokesman for Tudor declined to comment on the cuts.

Tudor has hired scientists and mathematicians, some with doctorates, to help money managers with trading. Mr Jones has told colleagues that his firm needs to get up to speed with newer technologies, people with knowledge of the matter said last month.

The moves at Tudor comes even as other funds are expanding in Asia as they seek the prospect of better returns outside developed markets. Brevan Howard Asset Management, Caxton Associates and Balyasny Asset Management have incorporated units in Singapore this year, according to filings with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority.

Still, Asia hasn’t been immune to losses. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings is liquidating a Japan-focused hedge fund after investors withdrew money following poor performance. Earlier in the year, Mr Carl Huttenlocher’s Myriad Asset Management closed down a Japan-focused hedge fund. BLOOMBERG