London Quant Rivals Trade Accusations Over Star Trader and Strategies
- Jump seeks a ruling to protect it from future poaching attacks
- Jump’s non-compete clause is too broad, Damien Couture says
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Two rival quant funds traded accusations of poaching, harassment and dishonesty at the start of an acrimonious London trial over a “highly paid” star trader and confidential trading information.
Jump Trading Group accused its ex-employee, Damien Couture, of dishonesty and misleading the firm by working for Verition Fund Management while he was on gardening leave. Jump asked a judge at the High Court to enforce a two year non-compete clause on Couture, including 12-months before he can work again, to “protect its business from any future similar attack,” its lawyers argued.