Izzy Englander (Millennium Management pic)
Israel “Izzy” Englander’s Millennium Management was sued by fellow financial firm Jane Street, who accused it of stealing trade secrets. Jane Street alleged that two of its former employees who moved over to Millennium brought with them the firm’s confidential information.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Manhattan on Friday. The two former Jane Street employees were named as Douglas Schadewald and Daniel Spottiswood, and the suit alleges that they stole “highly valuable, unique, and proprietary” secrets belonging to Jane Street.
“Instead of developing their own trading strategy, defendants stole the results of Jane Street’s long-term and hard-earned investments — its intellectual property and trade secrets,” Jane Street alleged.
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“Such competition by former employees, when lawful, is expected and Jane Street has no issue with such departures,” said the firm. “However, Jane Street cannot simply surrender its confidential information and trade secrets to former employees who breach their confidentiality obligations for, and to the benefit of, competitors.”
Jane Street Group is a “major player” in the financial world, known as a quantitative trading firm. This means they use complex algorithms and mathematical models to trade a variety of assets. They act as market makers, constantly quoting buy and sell prices for a wide range of financial instruments, including stocks, bonds, options, and even cryptocurrencies. This helps to ensure there are always buyers and sellers available, making markets more efficient.
Millennium Management has not yet responded publicly to the lawsuit.
Izzy Englander is a prominent American billionaire hedge fund manager. Born in 1948, Englander grew up in a religious Jewish household in Brooklyn, New York. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance from New York University. As of March 2024, Forbes estimates his net worth to be around $11.8, according to Forbes.
In 1989, along with Ronald Shear, he established Millennium Management, a hedge fund that has grown significantly. Starting with $35 million, Millennium now manages over $61.1 billion in assets. Millennium Management is one of the largest investment firms globally. It employs a unique structure, giving autonomy to multiple investment teams and allocating capital based on their performance.
