Behind a $3.2 billion heads fund’s closure: How rivals are circling talent and its prized risk system

• $3.2 billion Eisler told investors it was closing down due to the high costs of talent in September.
• The firm had more than 250 people based in nine offices across the US, Europe, and the Middle East.
• The manager has had discussions with onetime rival funds about purchasing their risk system, Photon.

Shutting down a hedge fund isn't as simple as turning off the lights and handing the office keys to the building manager.

Trades need to be wound down slowly to make sure backers don't lose money in a fire sale. Employment contracts with payouts and deferred compensation need to be honored. Anything worth selling needs to find a buyer.

At $3.2 billion Eisler Capital, the London-based multistrategy fund founded by Goldman Sachs veteran Ed Eisler, the firm's late September letter to investors about liquidating the firm was just the first step.

The firm had transformed itself from a macro shop into a fund with dozens of different teams trading their own specialities and had ambitious goals. In a conversation with Business Insider at the end of 2023, Eisler's COO, Chris Milner, said the manager had increased head count by more than 40% that year and had "a lot of support from our capital partners and the Street right now and don't feel constrained."

"What we don't want to do is grow for growth's sake. Against that, though, we are an ambitious organization," Milner said.

Unfortunately, 2023 was a high point for the firm. The firm made 3% in 2024, trailing its larger multistrategy peers, as costs mounted. Key moneymakers Adrien Delattre and Lewis Morton left the firm despite being named partners at the end of 2023.

"The challenge of attracting and retaining experienced money managers capable of deploying capital at scale within a cost structure acceptable to investors has grown significantly," the firm told investors in its letter.

Compared to the typical fund liquidation, Eisler has the ongoing attention of the industry due to its high head count and a possible sale of some of the firm's intellectual property.

In talking with backers of the firm, people close to the manager, and industry experts, Business Insider has pulled together the latest on the firm's potential sale of its risk system, Photon, the portfolio manager rival funds are trying to hire, and where some of the fund's investing talent has already landed.

The manager declined to comment.

The battle for Eisler's risk system

While Eisler's returns lagged behind those of its peers in 2025, with a loss of 1.7% through August, the firm's risk and analytics system, developed by Eisler and his right-hand man, Sam Wisnia, was known throughout the industry as well-designed. One person at a rival fund said Eisler's macro background gave the system a unique feel compared to others in the industry, which were made with long-short equity or quant trading in mind.

Multistrategy funds, the sprawling giants that have come to define this era of the industry, are hyper-focused on risk, given the key part of their pitch to large institutional investors: We can make money in any market environment.

While the cutthroat, immediate firings for any PM who loses 3% are not as common due to the talent war, these firms use a host of systems and tools to monitor the exposures and risks of each trading team, ensuring that no one portfolio drags down the entire fund. Eisler's Photon is considered to be one of the best for tracking macro risks.

Several people said the firm has had conversations with funds such as Verition and Taula Capital about buying the system, which is named Photon. Verition and Taula declined to comment.

Two LPs of the fund told Business Insider that they are frustrated that the money made from the potential sale of the system will not be distributed to them, but instead will go to Eisler and Wisnia. These backers feel entitled to a share of the proceeds from any sale, given that their pass-through fees covered the development of Photon.

A person close to the firm said that Eisler's legal documents with investors clearly give the ownership of intellectual property, such as Photon, to the founder.

The PM everyone is circling

In late 2023, in an effort to keep top talent at the firm, Eisler named four new partners. A little over a year later, three of them, including the aforementioned Delattre and Morton, had departed the fund — an ominous sign for how top performers viewed the manager's future.

The one new partner who stayed with the firm through its closing is now one of the most coveted potential hires for rivals, according to business development executives at two different multistrategy funds.

Massimiliano Pignatelli is a Milan-based portfolio manager who joined Eisler in 2020 after a stint on a trading desk for Macquarie in London. His resume includes a decade-long stint at French bank Société Générale, where he was the head of European Forward Trading, a type of derivative trading.

While he's worked in different European cities in his career, including Paris, the Italy native relocated to Milan while at Eisler. The financial center in northern Italy has become a haven for London's wealthy fleeing the United Kingdom's high tax regime.

He did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

Where the talent has landed

Pignatelli is far from the only Eisler talent in demand.

With more than 250 people across nine offices in the US, Europe, and the Middle East, the manager had a significant staff despite its relatively low asset base.

Despite a potential 30% cut to their bonuses if they left the fund immediately, Eisler executives and PMs have already started popping up at other funds. Below are some of the individuals who have already made a move, according to media reports, LinkedIn profiles, and industry sources.