There has been a shake-up at the top of one of the billionaire Ken Griffin's stock-picking units.
Rich Schimel, who headed Aptigon, a unit of the $27 billion hedge fund Citadel, and David Bonfili, formerly Aptigon's chief operating officer, have left, a spokesman for Citadel told Business Insider in an email.
"Eric Felder has been named Head of Aptigon Capital and Reza Shahi will assume COO responsibilities for the business," the spokesman said, adding that the changes were made "to strengthen the platform and drive investment performance." The spokesman added that Citadel had "parted ways" with several other Aptigon investment staffers, but he did not say who.
Felder joined Citadel last May to launch the Fundamental Strategies unit, and he later took on the firm's Global Credit business, per the spokesman. Felder will continue with these roles in addition to heading Aptigon.
The departures mark a sharp turnaround for Aptigon, which launched in 2016 with Schimel at the helm. At the time, Schimel went on a hiring spree from the fallen rival Visium Asset Management, bringing on 17 portfolio managers for the unit, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time. Schimel previously cofounded Diamondback Capital.
The spokesman said: "We are committed to the success of Aptigon Capital, and we will continue to recruit leading talent to the team."
SEE ALSO: Citadel's Eric Felder builds out Fundamental Strategies unit
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