Brevan Howard has strengthened its investment team with the appointment of Marouen Ben Othman, the former head of index flow trading at Citi, who has joined the firm as a senior portfolio manager in New York, according to a report by eFinancial Careers.

Ben Othman, who took up the role this month, arrives after more than three years at Citi, where he led the bank's index flow trading business, specialising in equity index derivatives. He joined the US banking giant in 2022 from JPMorgan and had previously held roles at Credit Suisse.

Brevan Howard reportedly declined to comment on the appointment, while Citi did not respond to requests for comment regarding his departure.

Ben Othman is regarded as having a strong quantitative background, having studied mathematics at France's prestigious École Polytechnique before completing the highly regarded DEA El Karoui postgraduate programme in mathematical finance, a qualification that has produced many leading figures in derivatives trading and quantitative finance.