An Old-School Hedge Fund Strategy Reboots Outside Big Pod Shops

Five years ago, veteran hedge fund trader Ed Cooper gave up his independence to join a group of peers betting on corporate deals at industry titan Millennium Management. Now he’s back on his own again.

Cooper is among a slew of portfolio managers opting to run their event-driven strategies outside of the giant firms, as some of the pod shops balk at the inherent volatility of the long-time industry staple that wagers on corporate events, including success and failure of deals.