Key Takeaways
- • Balyasny Asset Management is closing its Madrid office and has terminated Ignacio Perez-Cossio, its sole portfolio manager based in Spain, along with his three-person analyst team.
- • The $23 billion multistrategy hedge fund is consolidating European operations while maintaining significant presence in London, Denmark, and Poland.
- • Perez-Cossio, who joined Balyasny in 2023 from Zimmer Partners, delivered 13.6% returns in 2024 and was up 3.5% through February 2025, outperforming larger rivals including Citadel and Millennium.
- • The closure represents a strategic rationalization of smaller satellite offices rather than a broader operational contraction, as Balyasny continues expanding in other regions including Abu Dhabi.
Summary
Balyasny Asset Management, the Chicago-based $23 billion multistrategy hedge fund, is shuttering its Madrid office following the departure of Ignacio Perez-Cossio, the firm's only portfolio manager stationed in Spain. The closure also results in the exit of Perez-Cossio's three-analyst team, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Madrid office, located in the upscale Pozuelo de Alarcón municipality, will cease operations as part of what appears to be a focused geographic consolidation within Balyasny's European footprint.
Perez-Cossio joined Balyasny in 2023 as an equities portfolio manager, bringing experience from Zimmer Partners and Crestline Investors (now SummitTX), along with prior infrastructure and utilities research expertise developed during his tenure at UBS. Despite his relatively recent arrival at Balyasny, the portfolio manager had demonstrated strong performance metrics: his strategy generated 13.6% returns in 2024 and was up 3.5% through the first two months of 2025, outpacing larger competitors such as Citadel and Millennium during that January-February period.
The Madrid office closure signals a strategic reorientation rather than a wholesale retreat from European operations. Balyasny maintains substantial presence in London and operates additional offices in Denmark and Poland, indicating selective consolidation of underperforming or smaller satellite locations. Notably, the firm continues to expand internationally in other geographies, having recently hired additional portfolio management talent for a new Abu Dhabi office. Both Balyasny and Perez-Cossio declined to comment on the matter.
Perez-Cossio joined Balyasny in 2023 as an equities portfolio manager, bringing experience from Zimmer Partners and Crestline Investors (now SummitTX), along with prior infrastructure and utilities research expertise developed during his tenure at UBS. Despite his relatively recent arrival at Balyasny, the portfolio manager had demonstrated strong performance metrics: his strategy generated 13.6% returns in 2024 and was up 3.5% through the first two months of 2025, outpacing larger competitors such as Citadel and Millennium during that January-February period.
The Madrid office closure signals a strategic reorientation rather than a wholesale retreat from European operations. Balyasny maintains substantial presence in London and operates additional offices in Denmark and Poland, indicating selective consolidation of underperforming or smaller satellite locations. Notably, the firm continues to expand internationally in other geographies, having recently hired additional portfolio management talent for a new Abu Dhabi office. Both Balyasny and Perez-Cossio declined to comment on the matter.
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