Wall Street: RIP the index-rebalance trade

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10 THINGS ON WALL STREET

Finally, Friday! Dan DeFrancesco in NYC, which feels quite small and insignificant after checking out these 25 photos of space.

Fun Fact Friday: It's illegal to possess more than $600 worth of salamanders in Illinois. Click here for more weird state laws. 

Today, we've got stories on how Goldman's top tech executive is considering ROI for AI-use cases at the bank, Jamie Dimon has a take on the debt ceiling, and some of the best cities new graduates are landing in.

But first, I think we've reached the end of the road. 


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wall street trader sad

1. Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. 

Well, it was fun while it lasted.

Index-rebalance strategies, the talk of the town just a few short years ago, are seemingly on their last legs these days. 

The strategy, which amounts to betting on stocks being moving in and out of popular indexes like the S&P 500, hasn't been generating close to the returns it once minted for multi-strat hedge funds.

Now, some firms are cutting their losses and moving on, Insider's Alex Morrell reports. That's meant portfolio managers who were previously fawned over are now heading for the exits.

In this town, your luck can change just that quickly.

From Citadel to Millennium and Point72, Alex has a list of nearly a dozen PMs focused on the strategy who have departed this year.

What doomed the index-rebalance strategy is a tale as old as time on Wall Street. A handful of firms figure out a way to make money. Everyone else catches wind. And before you know — zap — that opportunity is gone faster than you can blow your bonus on a summer house. 

Of course, every end is a new beginning. Times are tough now, but as Alex notes in his story, not everyone is completely giving up on the strategy.

Because if Wall Street has taught us anything, it's better to get in at the bottom than the top. 

More on the no-good-very-bad-year for index-rebalance strategies. 


In other news:

Jamie Dimon on a blue circle

2. Goldman Sachs' top tech exec details how the firm views the ROI on generative AI. Marco Argenti spoke about how the bank is carefully thinking through how to get the most out of its AI investments. Here's why Argenti is focused on understanding "who to superhumanize to get the highest yield."

3. Inside's Abbot Downing's Hail Mary. The head of the Wells Fargo unit for the bank's richest clients made a last-ditch effort to save the brand. It didn't work, and employees left in droves. More here.

4. Man Group taps a new CEO. Robyn Grew is taking over for CEO Luke Ellis, placing a woman at the top of the massive hedge fund for the first time in its 240-year history, Bloomberg reports. And while we're talking Man Group, here's a rundown on a program meant to help non-tech workers learn data-science skills to help streamline their jobs.

5. Fintech Revolut's CFO is leaving the firm. Mikko Salovaara, who has been at the London-based fintech for two years, is exiting the startup as it attempts to obtain a UK banking license. More on why he's departing.

6. Jamie Dimon has some thoughts on the debt ceiling. The world's most-famous banker shared some ominous comments about a potential US default, describing it as "potentially catastrophic." Here's what else he said.

7. The CEO at the other Citadel. Citadel Securities, the massive market-maker founded by billionaire investor Ken Griffin, is headed up by 40-year-old Peng Zhao. This Bloomberg profile details the under-the-radar executive who head up a key player in the financial markets. Read it here.

8. YOLO-ing all night long. Robinhood is launching 24-hour trading on select stocks in a move that will certainly lead its users to make responsible investment decisions. These are the deets.

9. Life in the big city. These 10 metropolises are popular landing spots for young people looking for their first gigs out of college. Check them out.

10. Some high-protein recipes for you. Bodies are built in the kitchen, not the gym. So check out these meals that keep you full and hit your goals. Get cooking.  


Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email ddefrancesco@insider.com, tweet @dandefrancesco, or connect on LinkedIn. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London. 

 

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