Balyasny Asset Management has promoted portfolio manager Ilan Weiss to global co-head of equities, elevating one of the multi-strategy hedge fund's strongest-performing stock pickers to help oversee its largest investment strategy, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites an eternal memo sent to employees on Monday as saying that Weiss will run the equities business alongside founder Dmitry Balyasny. His team has generated the highest profits among Balyasny's equity teams since he became a portfolio manager, the firm said in the memo.

The promotion will allow Weiss to devote his full attention to managing the firm's global equities operation, according to Balyasny.

The equities strategy has remained profitable this year, according to a person familiar with its performance, providing an important source of gains for the $37bn multi-strategy firm at a time when other parts of the portfolio have struggled.

Balyasny's fixed-income and macro businesses have recorded losses this year, contributing to a return of just 0.7% through September, according to the person. That performance has left the firm well behind several of its largest multi-strategy peers.

Equities represents about 35% of Balyasny's gross capital and encompasses almost 100 portfolio managers across three divisions, highlighting the importance of the strategy to the firm's overall performance.

The leadership change comes three years after Balyasny assumed direct responsibility for the firm's equities investment platform as it sought to improve returns. He was supported by a committee of senior stock pickers, with Weiss among its members.

Weiss joined Balyasny in 2022 through its Anthem programme, which is designed to develop analysts into portfolio managers. He has also served as co-head of the programme while running his own investment team.