Cohen’s Point72 to open Warsaw office for selected back-office teams By Reuters

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss

BOSTON (Reuters) – Billionaire investor Steven A. Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management is opening the company’s last $ 16.2 billion satellite site in Warsaw and moving some back office operations to Poland at lower cost.

Point72, based in Stamford, Connecticut with 1,500 employees worldwide, plans to hire 150 people in Warsaw by the end of 2021.

Some jobs will move to Poland from the United States, but the move would impact less than 5% of the workforce, a Point72 spokesperson said.

Point72 plans to build technological, financial and operational teams in Poland, capitalizing on the highly skilled workforce and the country’s geographic location. The company, which employs teams of traders to invest in stocks, bonds and other instruments, has no plans to move investment professionals to Poland.

“The Warsaw office will play a key role in supporting the continued strategic growth of the company and in strengthening our investment services functions,” said the spokesperson.

Point72 has 10 offices, including New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Palo Alto, San Francisco and its headquarters in Stamford.

Many financial services companies, including hedge funds, have recently cut back on real estate investments to cut costs, as investors are particularly sensitive to high fees.

Rafa Lopez Espinosa, Global Head of Strategy for Point72 based in the United States, will relocate to Poland where he will retain his current role and lead the local office.

Point72 originated from Cohen’s hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors when the company took over money management for clients other than Cohen’s family members in 2018. The company was banned from serving external clients for some time after pleading guilty to securities fraud charges.

Assets have grown from $ 11 billion in 2018, when the company only managed Cohen’s private wealth, to $ 16.2 billion now. In the first half of 2020, the company recorded a return of 4%.