Walleye Capital Adds Senior Equity Execs to Boost Growth
The firm is hiring new leadership and portfolio managers to increase risk-taking capacity within its equity unit.
Updated on Oct. 16, 2026 in Corporate Finance
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Walleye Capital is expanding its equity long-short division in New York City with two senior hires, as the firm works to boost headcount and risk-taking capacity following a volatile year. These leadership changes arrive as the firm faces a 0.5% loss in its flagship multistrategy fund through the first nine months of 2026.
Why it matters
The firm is doubling down on its stock-picking unit to counteract recent performance headwinds and revitalize growth after a strong 15.5% return in 2025. By integrating artificial intelligence and new leadership, Walleye aims to increase team collaboration and accelerate investment sourcing.
Walleye Capital manages $17 billion in assets and added 14 external managers to its equity long-short division in 2026. The firm’s multistrategy fund is currently down 0.5% for the year, lagging behind a 6% return in the PivotalPath index through the third quarter.
The players
Walleye Capital
A multistrategy investment firm managing $17 billion in assets with headquarters in Minnesota and operations in New York.
Jordan Tanner
Incoming executive joining from Balyasny Asset Management to focus on AI-driven team collaboration.
Anna Dev
Incoming executive joining from Millennium Management to handle talent recruitment and external investment evaluation.
Matt Giannini
Former chief operating officer of the equity unit who departed the firm in September 2026.
The details
Jordan Tanner and Anna Dev will join in mid-2027, with Tanner focused on using artificial intelligence to streamline collaboration and Dev tasked with recruiting and evaluating external opportunities. These additions follow the departure of former equity unit COO Matt Giannini in September 2026. The firm is also preparing for the arrival of three new portfolio managers by the end of 2026, followed by five more in 2027 as non-compete periods expire.
Timeline
2025: Firm produced a 15.5% gain.
September 2026: Matt Giannini departed Walleye.
Q1-Q3 2026: Firm fund down 0.5%.
Before end of 2026: Three new portfolio managers to start.
Mid-2027: Tanner and Dev to begin at Walleye.
Market Landscape
Walleye Capital's 0.5% year-to-date loss marks a significant underperformance relative to the 6% return recorded by the PivotalPath index through the third quarter. The expansion effort follows a broader trend of multistrategy firms seeking to consolidate talent and leverage technology to recover from market volatility.
Operators in the investment sector should track how Walleye’s integration of AI-led collaboration impacts its long-term risk-adjusted returns. Firms should specifically evaluate whether their own hiring cycles align with the expiration of talent non-compete periods to capture market-ready expertise.
The takeaway
Walleye Capital is aggressively expanding its human capital to pivot back toward positive performance. Operators should monitor how the firm's 31 equity long-short fund investments perform as these eight new portfolio managers begin trading over the next 12 months.
What happens next
Three new portfolio managers are scheduled to start by the end of 2026, followed by five additional stock-picking managers in 2027.
Further reading
For more on shifts in firm leadership and staffing, see our Corporate Finance coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Business Insider.
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