Following a 5.9% loss in October, Walleye Capital announced significant changes to its equity portfolio. The $17 billion firm has removed Anil Gondi from his position as head of the equity long-short unit, according to a letter seen by Business Insider.
Will England, Walleye’s CEO and chief investment officer, indicated the firm is reevaluating its operations after experiencing its worst month since March 2020. He stated, “With that in mind, we are simplifying our internal equity long/short business.” This simplification entails dismissing the long/short leadership team and many internal investment managers.
Gondi, who joined Walleye in July 2025, came from a background as a portfolio manager at Balyasny Asset Management and was the founder of 6elm Capital. Neither Walleye nor Gondi offered further comments on the changes.
This marks the second major personnel change in Walleye’s stock-picking division in 2026. Previously, COO Matt Giannini departed to return to Citadel, another significant move reported by Business Insider.
England mentioned that significant efforts had been made to enhance the internal equity business by hiring new leadership. He admitted these efforts did not yield the anticipated results, with resources spent not matching the returns.
Despite the changes, Walleye Capital remains committed to trading stocks. Internal teams will now report directly to England. The firm also plans to continue investing in externally managed stock-picking funds and hiring new portfolio managers. Recently, Anna Dev was brought on board to explore external investment opportunities. Walleye is known to invest in funds managed by former Citadel traders such as Tommaso Trento’s Benchstone Capital.
The turbulent month of October affected hedge funds broadly, with stock-picking units facing considerable challenges. Point72 Asset Management and Schonfeld Strategic Partners were among those to report losses for the period. The month was marked by sell-offs in major tech companies like Meta and Intel, contributing to the S&P 500’s 1% drop.
Goldman Sachs data indicated a rise in short-selling, nearing a five-year high as investors reacted to market volatility.