Hedge Fund Eisler Cuts 15% of Staff in Overhaul to Trim Costs

(kacanginka) — Eisler Capital has dismissed about 15% of its workforce as it looks to reduce costs amid declining assets and trading losses.

The decision affects about 45 staff at the London-based investment firm, mostly in tech, middle and back office roles, as it leverages technology to fill the gaps, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The cuts also included about five investment professionals running about 3% of Eisler’s $3.5 billion in assets, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private.

Eisler’s hedge fund lost about 2.9% in April to erase all its year-to-date gains and leave it down about 2% during the first four months of 2025. It has recouped some of those losses this month. Assets have declined from $4 billion earlier this year, and the firm is likely to manage over $3 billion by the end of the year, the person added.

Many of the largest hedge funds are taking steps to streamline their operations for reasons including performance challenges, spiraling costs and a rethink of staffing needs after rapid growth. Eisler joins rivals such as
Brevan Howard Asset Management
,
Bridgewater Associates
and
Two Sigma Investments
in trimming headcount in recent months.

Multistrategy hedge funds like Eisler rely on teams of traders to spread bets across asset classes in the hope of earning steady returns. Their ability to charge clients pass-through expenses has fueled a high-tech upgrade of their trading infrastructure and a hiring frenzy for top traders.

Total expenses including performance fees could
exceed
more than half of the gross returns generated at some multistrategy hedge funds, according to BNP Paribas SA. During a period of challenging performance, such expenses could rapidly erode investors gains, making such hedge funds vulnerable to potential outflows.

Eisler’s restructuring is aimed at reducing the firm’s pass-through expenses to 2022 levels and leaving more of the profits generated for investors, the person added. The firm charged clients $244 million in pass-through expenses in 2023 and almost $200 million the year before, kacanginkahas
reported
.

The company has also completed its new tech platform, named Photon, meaning there could be opportunities to cut staff involved in the development.

A representative for Eisler declined to comment.

The firm, founded by former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. partner Edward Eisler, has been through a period of tumult, with a string of executive exits in the past year, as it tried to transform itself into a multistrategy hedge fund from its roots in macro trading. The firm’s 3% performance in 2024 lagged behind more established peers.

Recent high profile departures from the firm’s top money makers include Lewis Morton, who specializes in the highly levered bond basis trade, as well as Adrien Delattre, who left recently to manage money externally for rival Millennium Management.

Eisler has also hired at least 11 portfolio managers in recent months, including Colin Teichholtz, Ben Spielman, Michael Pinelli and El Mehdi Benhamde, who is returning to Eisler from Millennium.