One of Citadel Securities' top London rates traders quietly vanished

36 minutes ago

2 minute read

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Citadel Securities has been growing its macro business, often with people it's hired from Goldman Sachs. As it does so, one of its long-serving London macro traders, who joined from Barclays in 2019, has gone.

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David Kwan, Citadel Securities' head of swaps trading in London, left the electronic trading firm at the end of July. We have not spoken to Kwan, and Citadel Securities declined to comment, but the FCA Register shows him leaving at the end of July.

Kwan is understood to have been a big deal during his time at Citadel Securities, but he was also low-key. It's not clear why he left. The firm has bolstered its macro team with a variety of big names like Nikhil Choraria, the former head of the European rates desk at Goldman Sachs, who has arrived this very month and is based in London.

Kwan may have found a new role elsewhere. Or he may have retired following a longish career that began at Barclays in 2006. It's thought he's a fan of poker playing. We understand that Citadel Securities is moving US trader Jake Yudelowitz to London to become head of US treasury and swaps trading in the City. Yudelowitz joined Citadel Securities in 2020.

The changes at Citadel Securities' European rates business come as the firm has just published a document proclaiming the benefits it is bringing to fixed income markets "during periods of severe market stress."

The document says that contrary to claims by some trade organisations, new entrants to the market have been able to provide resilient liquidity in fixed income during market shocks, and that in doing so they've "compelled legacy intermediaries to up their game."

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