Balyasny Asia Head Abraham Said to be Planning New Hedge Fund

Avinash Abraham, Balyasny Asset Management’s Asia head, has left the alternative investment firm and is purportedly planning to launch his own hedge fund later this year. 

Abraham’s departure was first reported by Bloomberg, which cited unidentified sources for the information. He is apparently on so-called gardening leave, a form of notice provision in which an executive stays home and does not work for a period following an employment separation, as the company seeks to replace him. 

Abraham was with Balyasny for more than six years, working from its Hong Kong offices and joining in 2009 initially as a portfolio manager focused on Asian industrials. Beforehand, he was a partner and sector head at Ken Griffin’s Citadel and worked at Och-Ziff Capital Management as an analyst, according to a bio provided to last year's Sohn Conference in Hong Kong. 

Additional details regarding Abraham’s new venture were not immediately available.

Founded in 2001 by former Shoenfeld Securities trader Dmitry Balyasny, Chicago-based Balyasny manages approximately $9.6 billion deployed across multiple strategies managed by specialized investment teams.