Hedge Fund Managers Leave Goldman Sachs

Date: Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Author: The New York Times

Three heads of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, the firm’s quantitative investment group, left the firm on Tuesday, announcing their retirement.

The three men, including Ray Iwanowski and Mark Carhart, ran Goldman’s Global Alpha hedge fund, according to Clusterstock, which broke the news. Giorgio De Santis is also leaving Goldman. Bloomberg News confirmed their departure with Goldman, which declined further comment.

Clusterstock said there was speculation inside Goldman about the underlying reasons for the departure of the three men.

Some attributed it to the poor performance of their quantitative strategy over the last year or two, Clusterstock reported. Others say the bonus restrictions under the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program led them to pursue opportunities outside the firm.

Mr. Cahart and Mr. Iwanowski will be replaced by Katinka Domotorffy, most recently the head of strategy at the quantitative group, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. She will be assisted by three co-chief investment officers, Kent Daniel, Bill Fallon and Robert Jones, this person told Bloomberg, asking not to be identified because the information was private.