Key Takeaways
- • Carlos Licon, a Goldman Sachs vice president specializing in emerging market macro trading, has joined Brevan Howard as a portfolio manager in New York, marking a strategic talent acquisition in a tightening market for seasoned EM practitioners.
- • Licon spent nearly six years as a VP at Goldman Sachs, where he worked across Mexico City and New York offices, before opting for the portfolio manager role rather than waiting for potential Managing Director promotion in 2027.
- • Brevan Howard has systematically strengthened its emerging markets capability through recent senior hires, including economist Arturo Charleston (Latin America focus, hired last year), Juan Pablo Solorzano Margain (former Schonfeld Latin American research head, hired ~3 years ago), and now Licon, signaling a deliberate strategic push to anchor macro decision-making in the U.S.
- • The hire underscores a broader trend of Goldman Sachs' London emerging markets equities team departing for hedge fund roles, reflecting both talent scarcity and hedge funds' increased appetite for specialized macro expertise in a complex geopolitical environment.
- • Brevan Howard, which shifted from pure macro focus to diversified strategies in 2018, oversees approximately $34 billion in assets and is leveraging London-based partner Claire McCathie's leadership of its emerging markets fund to build competitive advantage in underserved market segments.
Summary
Carlos Licon's departure from Goldman Sachs to join Brevan Howard as a portfolio manager represents a significant talent shift in the hedge fund industry's race to secure specialized emerging market expertise. Licon, who spent nearly six years as a vice president at Goldman Sachs, specialized in emerging market macro trading and has worked across both Mexico City and New York offices, positioning him with deep geographic and sectoral insight into Latin American markets. His move to Brevan Howard's New York office elevates him from VP to portfolio manager—a structural advancement that reflects both the hedge fund's strategic priorities and Licon's calculated career trajectory.
Brevan Howard's hiring of Licon is part of a deliberate and visible effort to strengthen its emerging markets risk-taking capability. Under the leadership of London-based partner Claire McCathie, who runs Brevan's emerging markets fund, the firm has made successive senior hires targeting Latin American expertise. Arturo Charleston, an economist with Latin American focus, joined last year, while Juan Pablo Solorzano Margain, a former head of Latin American research at Schonfeld, was hired approximately three years ago. This pattern suggests a coordinated recruitment strategy designed to build a competitive emerging markets platform at a moment when such talent is scarce.
According to Jon Stock at Redstone Search, these hires "point to a deliberate strengthening of Brevan Howard's EM risk-taking capability at a moment when seasoned practitioners are in short supply, indicating both a tightening talent market and a strategic push to anchor more macro decision-making in the U.S." This assessment underscores that Brevan Howard's emerging markets expansion is both opportunistic—capitalizing on a constrained labor market—and structural, reflecting the firm's commitment to building U.S.-based macro capability.
The broader context reveals a notable trend of Goldman Sachs' emerging markets equities teams, particularly from its London office, departing for hedge fund roles. This migration suggests that hedge funds are successfully competing with traditional investment banking compensation and advancement paths, particularly for specialists in macro and emerging market strategies. For Licon, the decision to join Brevan Howard as a portfolio manager rather than wait for a potential Managing Director promotion at Goldman Sachs in 2027 reflects the premium now attached to operational decision-making authority in hedge fund environments.
Brevan Howard, founded in 2002 and managing approximately $34 billion in assets, originally operated as a macro-focused fund before diversifying into other strategies in 2018. The firm's renewed emphasis on emerging markets macro represents a strategic recalibration toward areas where veteran talent commands premium valuations and where geopolitical volatility creates sustained demand for specialized expertise.
Brevan Howard's hiring of Licon is part of a deliberate and visible effort to strengthen its emerging markets risk-taking capability. Under the leadership of London-based partner Claire McCathie, who runs Brevan's emerging markets fund, the firm has made successive senior hires targeting Latin American expertise. Arturo Charleston, an economist with Latin American focus, joined last year, while Juan Pablo Solorzano Margain, a former head of Latin American research at Schonfeld, was hired approximately three years ago. This pattern suggests a coordinated recruitment strategy designed to build a competitive emerging markets platform at a moment when such talent is scarce.
According to Jon Stock at Redstone Search, these hires "point to a deliberate strengthening of Brevan Howard's EM risk-taking capability at a moment when seasoned practitioners are in short supply, indicating both a tightening talent market and a strategic push to anchor more macro decision-making in the U.S." This assessment underscores that Brevan Howard's emerging markets expansion is both opportunistic—capitalizing on a constrained labor market—and structural, reflecting the firm's commitment to building U.S.-based macro capability.
The broader context reveals a notable trend of Goldman Sachs' emerging markets equities teams, particularly from its London office, departing for hedge fund roles. This migration suggests that hedge funds are successfully competing with traditional investment banking compensation and advancement paths, particularly for specialists in macro and emerging market strategies. For Licon, the decision to join Brevan Howard as a portfolio manager rather than wait for a potential Managing Director promotion at Goldman Sachs in 2027 reflects the premium now attached to operational decision-making authority in hedge fund environments.
Brevan Howard, founded in 2002 and managing approximately $34 billion in assets, originally operated as a macro-focused fund before diversifying into other strategies in 2018. The firm's renewed emphasis on emerging markets macro represents a strategic recalibration toward areas where veteran talent commands premium valuations and where geopolitical volatility creates sustained demand for specialized expertise.
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