By Matt Turner and Max Colchester
The former head of markets at Barclays PLC, who left the bank in
April, is set to join Magnetar Capital LLC, an Illinois-based hedge
fund that has just sold a stake in itself to Blackstone Group
LP.
Eric Felder, a 21-year veteran of both Barclays and Lehman
Brothers before his departure, will join the firm as a partner
based in New York, according to a statement issued by the company
Friday afternoon.
Mr. Felder will focus on expanding the firm's global event
driven strategy, where investors look to exploit price
inefficiencies that can come up around a major corporate move such
as a merger.
"The opportunity to add a leader with Eric's level of talent,
experience and integrity doesn't come along very often," David
Snyderman, partner and global head of fixed income at Magnetar,
said in the statement.
The appointment marks a swift return to the financial industry
for Mr. Felder. A memo sent by Tom King, chief executive of
Barclays' investment bank, at the time of Mr. Felder's departure
said that the banker would "use this moment of change as an
opportunity to pursue a career more aligned with his personal and
professional ambitions."
He was replaced at Barclays on an interim basis by Joe Corcoran,
who had headed the bank's equities and credit products unit.
Mr. Felder's hiring by Magnetar follows news that private-equity
firm Blackstone Group bought a minority stake in the hedge fund
firm, which is based in Evanston, Ill. Magnetar co-founder Ross
Laser said in a statement this week that the transaction would help
the firm meet the objectives of its investors and employees "as we
enter the next decade of our firm's evolution."
The firm, which was founded in 2005, manages $13.6 billion and
employs three major investment strategies: event driven, fixed
income and energy. The Blackstone investment put a
multibillion-dollar valuation on Magnetar, The Wall Street Journal
reported earlier this week. Magnetar said that it would use part of
the proceeds from the deal to hire and keep talent.
Mr. Felder joined Lehman Brothers in 1994, holding a number of
roles in the group's fixed-income division. He joined Barclays in
2008 as head of credit trading when the U.K. bank acquired the U.S.
operations of Lehman Brothers. He later took on responsibility for
emerging markets trading and the fixed income syndicate, and was
named head of the markets division in April 2014.
Write to Matt Turner at mturner@efinancialnews.com and Max
Colchester at max.colchester@wsj.com
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