Hedge funds and investment banks are going head-to head in a bid to secure the best macro trading talent in Hong Kong, according to a report by eFinancialCareers.

Ongoing market volatility has provided a opportunities for macro funds to chalk up big returns, while investment banks are looking to beef up their trading operations in fixed income commodities and currencies (FICC) as they look to compensate for underperformance by their corporate finance businesses.

Huatai Financial Holdings is building a macro distribution team in Hong Kong headed by Kurt Zhang who leads the FICC sales team, while sources say that Millennium Management, a US investment management firm with $53 billion of assets under management has been tapping talent from investment banks. Recent job postings reveal that the fund is also looking to make further quant hires in Hong Kong, while a recent post by Jonathan Xiong, co-CEO for Asia revealed that Millennium is also hiring researchers, developers and portfolio managers in the city.

Hedge fund Bluecrest Capital Management is also expanding its macro effort, and looking to hire both FX and rates traders in Hong Kong and Singapore.

The net result is additional pressure on investment banks, with BNP Paribas recently among the those losing mid-level Hong Kong-based rates traders to hedge funds, according to headhunters.