Via en.wikipedia.org
Millennium Management backs Farzad Kassam to launch $1B-plus hedge fund in Dubai
The macro portfolio manager's spin-out follows a well-worn playbook at Izzy Englander's $70B-plus hedge fund empire
Farzad Kassam, one of Millennium Management’s senior macro portfolio managers, is preparing to launch his own investment firm in Dubai with backing from the hedge fund giant.
Kassam’s new firm is expected to launch in 2027 with more than $1 billion in assets under management, capital he currently oversees at Millennium. Initially, the fund will manage money exclusively for Millennium founder Izzy Englander, with the possibility of accepting outside investors down the line.
The Millennium cub playbook
Kassam joined Millennium in 2019 after co-heading GBP rates trading at NatWest Markets, bringing deep expertise in fixed income and macro strategies.
Why Dubai, and why now
Kassam is already based in the UAE, which makes the choice of Dubai as a headquarters more practical than symbolic.
What this means for the macro trading landscape
Millennium Management, founded by Englander in 1989, runs one of the largest multistrategy hedge funds in the world. The firm’s approach involves deploying capital across hundreds of independent trading teams, each running their own book with strict risk controls imposed from above.
Starting with more than $1 billion from a single allocator like Englander removes the most painful part of launching a hedge fund: the capital raise. Most new funds spend their first year or two begging institutional investors for allocations while trying to build a track record.