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Point72 Asset Management

Point72 Asset Management is an American hedge fund. It was founded in 2014 by Steve Cohen, after his previous company S.A.C. Capital Advisors pleaded guilty to insider trading charges. In 2018, the company reopened to external investors after a two-year ban and began accepting outside capital. The company's office is located in Stamford, Connecticut.

History

2014 to 2019

Point72 has origins to 1992 with the founding of S.A.C. Capital Advisors, a group of hedge funds founded by Steve Cohen.[9] S.A.C pled guilty to federal charges in 2013 after an 11-year investigation into insider trading.[10] Point72 was founded in 2014 by Steve Cohen as the successor to S.A.C.[11] with the bulk of S.A.C.'s assets being transferred to Point72. Under an S.E.C. agreement, Point72 was initially not allowed to manage money from outside investors.[10] The firm initially hired Vincent Tortorella as chief surveillance officer and Kevin J. O’Connor an in-house attorney.[12] Douglas D. Haynes was appointed president.[13][14]

In 2015, the firm created Point72 Academy,[15] a 15-month paid program to train college graduates to work for the firm.[16][17] That same year, the firm started Point72 Ventures, a venture capital unit focused on developing financial technology.[18]

In 2018, the restriction on managing outside money was lifted and Point72 opened its first hedge fund, securing $3 billion in capital from approximately 20 institutions.[19] Shaughnessy retired in 2018 and was replaced by Gavin O'Connor, who joined the firm from Goldman Sachs.[20] In March 2018, it was reported by the New York Times that Haynes resigned as president "amid [a] gender bias lawsuit, with Cohen assuming the role of president.[21][22]

2020 to present

In August 2020, the firm closed to new money with just over $17 billion under management.[23][24][25]

In March 2020, Point72 hired Mo Grimeh as head of its macro investing business,[26] and created Point72 Hyperscale, a hybrid venture and private equity fund for early-stage AI technology companies.[27]

In January 2021, along with Ken Griffin's Citadel Investments, Point72 contributed $750 million to a $2.75 billion emergency bailout of Melvin Capital, a hedge fund that had incurred deep losses in the GameStop short squeeze;[28][29][30] Melvin Capital is run by Gabe Plotkin, a former protégé of Steven Cohen and one of the managers of SAC whose trades were investigated by the SEC.[31][28][32][33] In the first half of 2021, Point72 was reported to have lost $500 million on its investment in Melvin Capital.[34]

In June 2025, Point72 Ventures helped fund series A for CX2, a military technology startup.[35] In 2025, Point72 Turion began as a stock-picking hedge fund focused on AI, with Reuters reporting the fund holding approximately $1.5 billion as of January 2025.[36]

Operations

Point72 Asset Management operates as a multi-strategy hedge fund, employing discretionary long/short equity, systematic, macro, and venture capital strategies. The firm also manages internal proprietary capital and capital from select external investors.[37]

As of late 2025, Point72 reports managing approximately US$41.5 billion in assets and employing more than 3,000 people across offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia.[11][38][39]

In November 2025, the firm announced a structural reorganization of its equities division. Beginning January 1, 2026, its fundamental equities business will operate as two entities: the existing Point72 Equities, and a newly established affiliate, Valist Asset Management. The restructuring is aimed at enhancing investment flexibility and team specialization.[40][41]

Point72 is also expanding into private markets. In 2025, the firm began raising capital for a private credit strategy, targeting at least US$1 billion. This move reflects a broader industry trend of hedge funds entering alternative lending markets as institutional investors seek stable, yield-oriented alternatives to public debt.[37]

The firm also maintains a significant quantitative trading operation through its Cubist Systematic Strategies division, which employs data-driven and algorithmic strategies across global markets. In September 2025, Cubist replaced its head, Denis Dancanet, with Geoffrey Lauprete, formerly of WorldQuant.[42][43]

Gender bias lawsuits

The firm has faced multiple lawsuits from employees alleging gender and pay discrimination.[44][45][46][47] In September 2020, Point72 settled a gender and pay discrimination suit brought by Lauren Bonner, the company's former Head of Talent Analytics.[48][49]

External links

References

  1. Nishanth Kumar, Liza Tetley. Rokos Joins Hedge Funds Losing Money Last Week, Jain Gains Bloomberg News, March 10, 2026^
  2. About72 retrieved 2026-03-11^
  3. Leadership - Our Leaders Point72, retrieved 9 September 2025^
  4. Saijel Kishan. Point72's Haynes Says 'Cost of Being Excellent' Keeps Going Up Bloomberg, October 22, 2015, retrieved January 7, 2016^
  5. point72.com. Homepage. Accessed 2016-03-01.^
  6. Kate Kelly. The second coming of Steven Cohen. CNBC. 2016-01-11. Accessed 2016-03-01.^
  7. Locations - Meet Us Where Great Talent Lives Point72, retrieved 9 September 2025^
  8. Simone Foxman. Cohen's Firm said to hire 30 seeking edge in public data Bloomberg, March 10, 2015, retrieved 2017-03-11^
  9. John Gapper. How Steven Cohen survived an insider trading scandal Financial Times, 16 February 2017, retrieved 23 May 2017^
  10. Ben Protess, Peter Lattman. After a Decade, SAC Capital Blinks New York Times, 4 November 2013, retrieved 6 November 2013^
  11. Steven A. Cohen - Point72 Asset Management Point72 Asset Management, retrieved 2017-04-27^
  12. Katherine Burton. Cohen hires Tortorella as Surveillance Chief for Point72 Bloomberg, April 8, 2014, retrieved 2017-03-11^
  13. Matthew Goldstein. Point72 Hires Ex-Prosecutor as General Counsel New York Times, 6 May 2015, retrieved 6 December 2019^
  14. Katherine Burton. IBM's O'Shaughnessy Hired as COO by Point72 Bloomberg, May 20, 2015, retrieved 2017-03-11^
  15. Nishant Kumar, Liza Tetley. Hedge Fund Talent Schools Are Looking for the Perfect Trader Bloomberg, 20 June 2024^
  16. Portia Crowe. Inside Steve Cohen's groundbreaking 'Academy' poaching young talent from Wall Street Business Insider, 1 October 2015^
  17. Lindsay Fortado, Mary Childs. Billionaire Steven Cohen's training academy turns global Financial Times, 31 October 2016^
  18. Miles Weiss. Cohen's Point72 Starts Venture Unit to Fund Financial Technology Bloomberg, 3 May 2016^
  19. Rachael Levy. Steve Cohen Points72 Hedge Fund Amasses 3 Billion Closing to Investors Business Insider, 11 January 2018, retrieved 9 September 2025^
  20. Phil Hall. Two new executives named at Point72 Daily Voice, September 20, 2018, retrieved April 24, 2019^
  21. Matthew Goldstein, Jessica Silver-Greenberg. President of Steven Cohen's Investment Firm Quits Amid Gender Bias Lawsuit New York Times, 17 March 2018, retrieved 6 December 2019^
  22. Carleton English, Priscilla DeGregory. Hedgie claims misogyny accusations made him 'unemployable' New York Post, 2019-07-03, retrieved 2020-09-03^
  23. Leslie Picker. Steve Cohen's Point72 closing to new money CNBC, Jul 30, 2020^
  24. Michael McDonald. Steve Cohen's Point72 Closing to New Money After Raising $10 Billion Bloomberg, July 29, 2020^
  25. Point72 closing to new money after raising $10 billion Pensions & Investments, 2020-07-30, retrieved 2020-09-03^
  26. Nishant Kumar. Billionaire Steve Cohen Pushes Point72 Deeper Into Macro Trading Bloomberg, 11 December 2023^
  27. Juliet Chung, Katie Roof. Steven A. Cohen Raising New Fund to Invest in Private Companies WSJ, 6 March 2020^
  28. Citadel, Point72 Back Melvin With $2.75 Billion After Losses Bloomberg, January 25, 2021^
  29. Steve Cohen's Point72 Raises $1.5 Billion After Melvin Capital Infusion Bloomberg, February 2, 2021^
  30. Steve Cohen's Point72 raises $1.5 billion after supporting Melvin Capital during the GameStop saga, report says Business Insider, 2025-02-03, retrieved 2021-07-12^
  31. Juliet Chung. WSJ News Exclusive Wall Street Journal, 2021-01-25, retrieved 2021-07-12^
  32. SAC's top consumer trader draws scrutiny from U.S. authorities Reuters, 2012-12-19, retrieved 2021-07-12^
  33. Laurence Fletcher. Hedge fund that bet against GameStop shuts down Financial Times, 2021-06-22, retrieved 2021-07-12^
  34. Katherine, Hema, and Nishant Burton, Parmar, and Kumar. Steve Cohen's Bet on Melvin Leaves Point72 Trailing Hedge-Fund Peers Bloomberg, July 9, 2021^
  35. Keerthi Vedentam. Defense Tech Startup CX2 Nets $31M Series A Los Angeles Business Journal, 16 June 2025^
  36. Summer Zhen. Point72's new AI fund near $1.5 bln after double-digit returns, sources say Reuters, 16 January 2025^
  37. Nishant Kumar. Point72 Gears Up to Raise at Least $1 Billion for Private Credit Bloomberg, November 6, 2025^
  38. Point72 preps new equity unit as assets soar to $42 billion www.pionline.com, November 3, 2025, retrieved 2025-12-04^
  39. 13th FERI Hedge Fund Investor Day thehedgefundjournal.com, retrieved 2025-12-04^
  40. Bradley Saacks. Steve Cohen's Point72 is creating a new equities brand to get better access to the C-suite Business Insider, retrieved 2025-12-04^
  41. Point72 launches new equity unit as AUM surges past $40bn - Hedgeweek 2025-11-04, retrieved 2025-12-04^
  42. Alex Morrell. Inside Steve Cohen's Cubist shake-up: How a quiet search and chance timing led to the surprising change at Point72 Business Insider, retrieved 2025-12-04^
  43. Alex Morrell. Point72 quant head Denis Dancanet is out. WorldQuant's former CIO is taking over Cubist. Business Insider, retrieved 2025-12-04^
  44. Leslie Picker, Dawn Giel, Jen Zweben. The woman suing Point72 and Steve Cohen speaks out about alleged gender and pay discrimination CNBC, 2018-06-11, retrieved 2020-09-03^
  45. Paul Schott. Point72 gender-discrimination lawsuit moves to arbitration StamfordAdvocate, 2018-10-02, retrieved 2020-09-03^
  46. Paul Schott. Point72 discrimination case clouded by uncertainty CTInsider.com, 2019-10-13, retrieved 2020-09-03^
  47. Wigdor LLP Files Gender Discrimination Lawsuit Against Point72 Wigdor LLP, 2018-02-13, retrieved 2020-09-03^
  48. Juliet Chung. Steve Cohen's Point72 Settles With Female Employee in Gender Discrimination Arbitration Wall Street Journal, 2020-09-17, retrieved 2020-09-18^
  49. Matthew Goldstein. As Steve Cohen Closes In on Mets, Discrimination Claims Cast a Shadow The New York Times, 2020-09-18, retrieved 2020-09-19^