Cohen wrangling to retain talent: sources

Hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen is trying to use a combination of the carrot and stick to keep staffers in their seats, The Post has learned.

The hedgie behind Point72, who is back to managing outside money following a recent ban, has presented an array of new payment plans to his portfolio managers to prevent them from fleeing to rivals such as Citadel, sources tell The Post.

The new plans include promises of higher payouts in exchange for loyalty, sources said. One such agreement would require employees to commit to the Stamford-based hedge fund for up to three years, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said.

Another plan being talked about on Wall Street, but denied by Point72 insiders, would require money managers to sign three-year noncompete agreements in exchange for higher pay.

The idea of barring staffers from going to a rival for three years after leaving Point72 “is insane,” one Wall Streeter lamented.

None of the plans discussed internally have been adopted by the firm, sources said.

Cohen’s efforts to revamp how he retains employees comes as 20 portfolio managers have left Point72 this year, according to The Wall Street Journal, which reported on the departures Tuesday.

Point72, which manages roughly $14 billion, denies that it is struggling for talent.

“We’ve hired more PMs this year than have left,” Point72 said in a statement. “The firm is growing and our PM retention rates are best in class .”

Point72 was founded in 2014 after Cohen was forced to shutter his previous hedge fund, SAC Capital, when it pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges in 2013. In 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission banned Cohen from managing outside money until 2018 for failing to supervise former portfolio manager Mathew Martoma, who was convicted of insider trading.

Point72 raised $5 billion last year — a move Cohen said was “actually not hard.” Returns were flat in 2018 but are up 9 percent in its main fund through the first half of this year.

Cohen aired his frustrations with the industry before a crowd of his peers at a gala benefiting Lincoln Center in April.

“Hedge funds, multimanagers are hiring from each other. It kind of feels like a zero-sum game,” Cohen lamented. “Nobody benefits.”