Steve Cohen's Point72 has hired a Castleton veteran trader to help with commodities, according to sources

Three sources told us that Steve Cohen's hedge fund Point72 Asset Management hired Ryan Sheffler to be its natural gas portfolio manager in order to expand the commodities trading desk.

Point72 is one of the few large hedge funds that has not yet built a commodities business. It has been pushing into this space in recent weeks.

Citadel, Millennium and other investment firms have made huge profits due to the extreme volatility of commodity prices. This has been caused by geopolitical turmoil since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

Three industry sources reported that Point72 hired Sheffler in recent weeks from Stamford-based energy trading company Castleton Commodities International. Sheffler was a cross-assets trader at Castleton Commodities International.

Point72, with a total of?approximately $45.7 billion in assets under management, declined to make any comments.

Sheffler and Castleton didn't immediately respond to comments.

Sources said that Sheffler would lead the natural gas trading at Point72 in Stamford Connecticut.

Investors are focusing on the gas market because of expectations that new data centers and liquefied natgas plants will boost demand.

Sheffler has spent the last 14 years as a cross commodity trader at Castleton Commodities International, according to his LinkedIn page. He began his career in 2007 as a power trading at Goldman Sachs, based in New York.

Two sources say that Point72 will likely make more hires in the commodities sector over the next few months. One source said that Point72 is also considering opening an office in Houston, to accommodate potential new recruits at the center of the U.S. Energy Industry. (Reporting and editing by Tom Hogue in Houston, Georgina McCartney from Houston)

(source: Reuters)