US hedge fund Schonfeld which increased its London footprint by 50% in 2021, and continued building out its team in the UK capital with the appointment of women to several key positions, according to a report by eFinancialCareers.
The appointment of Niamh Taylor, a former managing director in prime and alternative sales at JPMorgan, as head of EMEA in June this year, was described as a “milestone” by chief strategy officer Danielle Pizza, and further notable female appointments have followed.
Katie Tester, has joined Schonfeld from Eisler as director of business development, having previously spent eight years at Goldman Sachs, while Sari Uthayakumar has moved from Bank of America to take up the position of a director on the discretionary macro & fixed income fund run by Colin Lancaster.
Fangfang Guo, meanwhile, who joined Schonfled from Citi, has been appointed as a quantitative researcher.
Whilst employing three women isn’t going to seismically change the financial services industry, it’s still notable given the shortage of women in hedge funds. Taylor was brought in to “oversee Schonfeld’s EMEA business operations and talent”, and the fund’s expansion in the region is her handiwork.
According to its latest report to Companies House, Schonfeld, which opened its London office in 2018, now employs 65 staff in the city.
