Walleye Capital Returns Capital, Fires Equities Head After Worst Month Since 2020

Walleye Capital, the $17 billion multistrategy hedge fund led by CIO Will England, is returning a portion of its capital to investors and simplifying its internal equity long/short business following a 5.9% loss in October 2026. This marked the firm's worst month since March 2020, pushing year-to-date performance to -6.8%. The move includes parting ways with head of equities Anil Gondi and a substantial portion of the internal long/short teams, as detailed in a letter to investors. England emphasized discipline and a focus on areas of proven strength like volatility, quant, and external manager allocations, noting that internal equity L/S had underperformed since 2023 and the resources consumed were too high relative to returns. The firm will maintain allocations to external long/short managers, continue seeding new ones via its Dockside platform, and have remaining internal PMs report directly to England. This shift comes after months of expansion efforts, including hires from Balyasny and Millennium in October 2026, which were intended to build out the equities unit but were reversed amid broader industry challenges for pod-style models. Multiple reports confirm the performance figures and personnel changes.