Hedge fund Balyasny paid $2m on average to its London staff last year
As a rule of thumb, hedge funds pay very well. But even the well-paying hedge funds in London struggle to pay over $1m on average. Fortunately, one hedge fund has recently earned that illustrious distinction.
Employees at Balyasny Asset Management (UK) LLP, the main UK subsidiary of the US hedge fund, earned an average of £1.5m ($2.0m) for their work across 2024. It was a substantial sum, and well up on the £883k ($1.2m) that they earned on average in 2023.
The subsidiary also dropped its headcount, from 219 to 161 between 2023 and 2024 respectively. But it did note that some people were moved around between subsidiaries at Balyasny across 2023 – so it’s unlikely that it discarded a quarter of its employees.
The pay figures are also skewed by the exceptional performance of a few portfolio managers. One of Balyasny’s subsidiaries, Balyasny international asset management limited, noted that (average) pay was not representative due to “outliers” coming from “formulaic bonuses earned by portfolio managers with strong performance.”
The performant portfolio managers certainly earned their bonuses. Revenue at the subsidiary went from £351m ($471m) in 2023 to £477m ($639m) in 2024, a 36% increase. Profit at the firm in turn went from £5m ($6.7m) to £33m ($44m).
Pay might not be as extreme after 2025. According to Bloomberg, Balyasny posted returns of 10% in the first nine months of this year, behind rivals such as Rokos and ExodusPoint, which posted returns of 17% and 12%, respectively. Balyasny did, however, do better than Citadel and Millennium, which were up only 5% and 6%, respectively.
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