Key Takeaways
- • Bernd Kuhlenschmidt, a quantitative portfolio manager who departed Eisler Capital in September 2024 alongside nine other money managers, has joined DRW (Don Wilson's electronic trading firm) as a portfolio manager in its London office, marking his return to the trading industry after a brief absence.
- • Kuhlenschmidt held his PM role at Eisler for less than a year before departing; of the ten departures, only two have publicly resurfaced—William Bartlett at Morgan Stanley (March 2025) and Matthew Haigh at Squarepoint Capital (January 2025)—suggesting the broader cohort departure created employment friction for most involved.
- • Kuhlenschmidt brings deep quantitative credentials (PhD mathematician from Cambridge, three years at Squarepoint Capital, six years at Systematica Investments) to DRW, positioning the firm for strengthened algorithmic trading capabilities in its London operations.
- • Eisler Capital's deputy CIO Sam Wisnia attributed departures partly to cultural fit, noting the fund maintains an intensive hands-on management approach; DRW is similarly described as a high-involvement operation despite its family office-like structure.
- • Eisler's fund performance showed resilience post-departures, moving from flat quarterly returns following the September 2024 exits to a 3% full-year return, indicating successful regrouping after the talent loss.
Summary
Bernd Kuhlenschmidt, a quantitative portfolio manager, has joined DRW as a portfolio manager in London, completing a return to active trading following his September 2024 departure from Eisler Capital. Kuhlenschmidt left Eisler alongside nine other money managers after holding his PM position there for less than a year. The timing of his placement at DRW suggests relatively swift re-employment for a senior quant talent, though the broader cohort experienced mixed success in the job market.
Of the ten traders who exited Eisler simultaneously, only two have publicly re-emerged in new positions as of late March 2025: William Bartlett, who previously joined Eisler from CIBC, resurfaced at Morgan Stanley in mid-March, and Matthew Haigh, an ex-Citigroup managing director and Bluecrest portfolio manager, landed at Squarepoint Capital in January. The eFinancialCareers report notes the departures included both voluntary and involuntary separations, though individual classifications remain unclear. This pattern suggests that mid-level talent face meaningful friction when exiting hedge funds en masse, regardless of seniority.
Kuhlenschmidt's background positions him as a high-caliber quantitative hire. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Cambridge with thesis work on sequential Monte Carlo methods—a foundational technique in computational finance—and spent six years at Systematica Investments (a Bluecrest spinout) and three years at Squarepoint Capital before joining Eisler. His move to DRW, described as "Don's shop" and operating with family office-like operational intensity rather than traditional prop trading structures, suggests cultural alignment on intensive engagement models.
Eisler Capital's deputy CIO Sam Wisnia framed the departures as partly attributable to organizational culture, noting the fund eschews a "just hiring PMs and leaving them alone" approach. While Wisnia characterized this intensity as a potential friction point for some hires, DRW operates under similar principles of active portfolio management oversight. Performance data indicates Eisler weathered the September 2024 exodus: the fund posted flat returns in the immediate post-departure quarter but recovered to deliver 3% full-year returns, demonstrating successful operational recalibration following the talent loss.
Of the ten traders who exited Eisler simultaneously, only two have publicly re-emerged in new positions as of late March 2025: William Bartlett, who previously joined Eisler from CIBC, resurfaced at Morgan Stanley in mid-March, and Matthew Haigh, an ex-Citigroup managing director and Bluecrest portfolio manager, landed at Squarepoint Capital in January. The eFinancialCareers report notes the departures included both voluntary and involuntary separations, though individual classifications remain unclear. This pattern suggests that mid-level talent face meaningful friction when exiting hedge funds en masse, regardless of seniority.
Kuhlenschmidt's background positions him as a high-caliber quantitative hire. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Cambridge with thesis work on sequential Monte Carlo methods—a foundational technique in computational finance—and spent six years at Systematica Investments (a Bluecrest spinout) and three years at Squarepoint Capital before joining Eisler. His move to DRW, described as "Don's shop" and operating with family office-like operational intensity rather than traditional prop trading structures, suggests cultural alignment on intensive engagement models.
Eisler Capital's deputy CIO Sam Wisnia framed the departures as partly attributable to organizational culture, noting the fund eschews a "just hiring PMs and leaving them alone" approach. While Wisnia characterized this intensity as a potential friction point for some hires, DRW operates under similar principles of active portfolio management oversight. Performance data indicates Eisler weathered the September 2024 exodus: the fund posted flat returns in the immediate post-departure quarter but recovered to deliver 3% full-year returns, demonstrating successful operational recalibration following the talent loss.
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