Cohen’s Point72 plans Asia expansion

Steven A Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management plans to further expand its Asia business after a two-year hiring spree in Hong Kong.The firm now employs about 93 people in the city, up from 58 at the end of 2015, Howard Man, who leads the equity long- short business in Asia ex-Japan, said in an interview.On Thursday, it opened a new 25,000-square-foot office that can potentially house more than 160 people, doubling the amount of space from its former premises. “We continue to look to grow,” said Man, who oversees the discretionary portion of Point72’s stock strategies in the region. While the Stamford, Connecticut-based firm doesn’t have a specific hiring target, it sees “tremendous” opportunities in Asia markets, he said, citing the potential for economic growth in countries such as China and Indonesia, and improving market liquidity.The recent expansion in staff and office space is one of the most aggressive among global hedge funds in Asia.The firm has been a training ground for hedge fund analysts and managers in the region, with some going on to found their own funds. Point72 and its predecessor have operated in Hong Kong, its oldest Asia office, since 2006.Billionaire Cohen started his hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors in 1992 and returned an average 30% a year before becoming embroiled in an insider-trading scandal in 2013. The Asia hiring spree took place as Point72 prepared to start accepting client money again after a US ban on Cohen trading outside capital was lifted early this year. Since then, it has raised almost $3.3bn of outside money, taking total assets to about $12bn. Point72 employs 10 fund managers and junior fund managers who bet on rising and falling stocks in its Hong Kong and Singapore offices, more than double the number 2 1/2-years ago, Man said.Including its Tokyo office, it now employs almost 160 people in Asia, up about 70% since the start of 2016, he said.