Amaranth Securities
The U.S. fund was first mover in the rush to unwind complex equity correlation positions when implied volatility spiked in May, meaning it closed out at a profit while other funds took substantial hits. Although state of play at the fund was unclear as DW went to press, it was nominated for the size of its volatility risk appetite at the start of the year and for the skill with which it withdrew in the spring.
BlueCrest Capital Management
The BlueCrest Capital International Fund lured former Merrill Lynch director David Phitoussi late last year. It followed up this hire by adding Dharmendra Patel--a well-regarded strategist at Goldman Sachs--for a trading role. "They are clever guys," said one sellsider, who noted while it may be too early to tell how the fund is doing, the BlueCrest machine has proven itself to be a solid player in fixed-income derivatives and this should support the equity group.
Morley Fund Management
The U.K. manager was one of the first to take significant steps to use equity derivatives in its sizeable institutional funds and continues to innovate. Iyad Farah leads single-stock options trading for a variety of its funds, while Steve Cleal handles equity index derivatives. It has recently expanded its equity derivatives expertise to a novel covered-call writing fund for retail. Dubbed the Global Distribution Fund and structured in partnership with Barclays Capital, it now has GBP100 million (USD189.3 million) under management.
The Royal Bank Of Scotland's Multi-Strategy Group
The U.K. firm's internal fund, launched late last year, also received plaudits for surviving equity market turbulence. The launch took the Street by surprise and generated a lot of buzz. Anthony Medina, head of the group, has gathered together a team of well-respected traders, and this year they have demonstrated that they can punch above their weight in the close-knit equity volatility world.
