Boussard & Gavaudan trader sets up hedge fund boutique
ONE of Boussard & Gavaudan (B&G)’s star traders has left to set up his own hedge fund, Occitan Capital, after just over three years at the company’s London office.
Financials specialist Thomas de Garidel-Thoron stepped down as a partner of B&G earlier this month, according to a regulatory filing. De Garidel-Thoron, an ex-Goldman Sachs staffer, has reunited with former colleague Hervé Gallo to launch the venture, which will focus on arbitrage opportunities in European equities and derivatives.
His departure is a surprise for B&G. The long-only alternative asset manager hired the French national from Goldman in 2007 to lead its UK and financials equity trading. At the time, it hailed his experience as head of Goldman’s European single stocks options desk, before which he spent a four-year stint at Salomon Brothers as senior options trader. De Garidel-Thoron began his career as a lecturer in economics at UCL.
Occitan will activate its first fund in November, according to a report. It will be fuelled with large pre-commitments from two seed investors.
De Garidel-Thoron was unavailable for comment. B&G declined to talk.