A Hedge Fund Big Beast Is Killed by the Robots
The controversial Philippe Jabre is hanging up his boots. While his models were still sophisticated, technology has changed everything.
This signals the end of the arbitrage heyday.
Photographer: Carl Court/Getty Images EuropeIt’s the end of an era. The fabled but controversial hedge fund trader Philippe Jabre is hanging up his boots. His self-named firm is closing the three funds he personally managed, and that will be that. While he was subject to a hefty fine back in 2003 related to trading on inside information, he will still be remembered for kick-starting the career of plenty of aspiring investment bankers.
It also signals the end of the arbitrage heyday. Never again will we see the likes of hedge fund swashbucklers making decisions on the hoof by snapping up huge chunks of stock and new placements. Jabre was famed for making instant decisions, often when woken in the night, and would take the rough deals with the smooth — so long as it meant he’d get bigger allocations on the juicy deals. He was a one-man commission-generating machine, and the brokers and syndicate desks revered him for it, despite the fall from grace in 2003.