Inside Eisler Capital's last year: Plastic bottle recycling, weekly risk meetings, $1.5m pay
Hedge fund Eisler Capital is no longer managing money, but it is still filing accounts. Accounts for the final year of Eisler Capital Management Ltd. and its subsidiary Eisler Capital (HC) Ltd. offer some final fleeting insights into what it was like to work there.
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There was some keen recycling going on. Eisler had a program for reusable water bottles and had banned the use of single use plastic bottles on its premises. There were also a lot of meetings: Eisler's management committee and risk management committee would convene once a week; its valuation committee and operational risk committee would meet once a month; its conflicts committee would meet once a quarter.
Despite all the meetings and recycling, Eisler announced it would wind down its multistrategy fund in September 2025, redeemed its own investments in the fund by December, and moved out of its offices.
The filings also show Eisler's deteriorating profitability. In its final year of operation, operating profit fell 65% and the firm made a $7.5m loss after tax.
Declining operating profits were partly the result of rising pay. Total compensation spending for Eisler's 296 employees rose 24% to consume 83% of revenues. Average pay per employee went from $1.1m to $1.5m, probably including spending on severance.
It's tempting to think that tax charges tipped Eisler over the edge. Instead, it seems that winding down the fund meant R&D tax credits had to be written off, resulting in the $15.9m charge.
Amidst all this, Eisler's directors and shareholders were hit hardest. The unnamed highest paid director took a 70% pay cut, but still received $1.7m. Dividends fell 73%, but were still $11.6m and used to offset a loan made by Eisler's UK subsidiary to its parent company in the Cayman Islands.
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