Winton Group, the London hedge fund set up by billionaire quant investor David Harding, is on the hunt for specialist crypto expertise, in a hint that it will join other heavyweight investors looking to gain a foothold in the fast-growing digital asset market.
The firm, founded by Harding in 2007, posted a job ad on LinkedIn in August for a cryptoquant researcher to “support the development of our cryptosystematic trading strategies.”
The successful candidate will sit within Winton’s investment management and research group, and be responsible for signal analysis and research in crypto markets, portfolio construction for trading strategies, as well as reporting and analysis, the ad said.
Winton, who reportedly oversaw $8 billion in assets earlier this year, declined to comment on the job posting when contacted by Financial news.
The firm’s quest for dedicated crypto expertise comes amid rapid expansion into digital assets among hedge funds globally.
According to a PwC report published in June, more than a third of traditional hedge funds are now investing in digital assets – almost double the number a year ago.
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Of the traditional hedge funds PwC surveyed, 38% said they are investing in digital assets, compared to 21% a year ago. Meanwhile, the number of specialist crypto hedge funds is estimated to reach the top 300 globally, with the number of new funds being launched accelerating over the past two years.
PwC’s research suggested that most traditional hedge funds are only dipping their toes into crypto, with 57% having less than 1% of their total assets invested in the space. However, 67% said they intended to deploy more capital to the asset class by the end of 2022.
Bitcoin was traded by 86% of hedge funds surveyed by PwC, with the next most popular cryptos listed as ether, solana and polkadot.
What about other hedge funds?
Other major hedge funds have been looking to make inroads into crypto.
Point72 – the US hedge fund founded by Steve Cohen – is looking for at least two senior crypto experts to expand its digital asset expertise, according to a report from Blockwork in July, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
Meanwhile, Brevan Howard has raised more than $1 billion from institutional investors for its flagship digital asset-focused vehicle, according to reports.
Launched in September 2021, BH Digital has grown to more than 60 people, with its team supported by more than 20 external blockchain engineers, according to its website.
Despite a slowdown in the crypto market, the number of jobs in finance that require knowledge of the sector continues to increase.
JPMorgan has 16 live job postings that require knowledge of blockchain or crypto. Citigroup has 11, while ratings agency Moody’s has 12, according to Indeed data.
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To contact the author of this story with feedback or news, email David Ricketts
