Escaped Nomura rates trader joins hedge fund amidst bonus rumblings
As we have observed here often, Nomura's rates business has lost several people in the past year. One has now turned up at a London hedge fund as those remaining at the Japanese bank say they fear for their bonuses.
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William Johnson was part of a raft of rates traders who left Nomura in 2025. Johnson, who spent 16 years at the Japanese bank has now turned up at hedge fund Alphadyne Asset Management in London.
Nomura's traders can be popular with hedge funds because they are often more used to taking proprietary risk than traders at other banks who are steeped in market making. Nonetheless, Kilian Frensch, Nomura's former head of European rates swap trading has moved to UBS, where he's thought to be rebuilding the team.
Nomura may need some new rates traders this year and there are suggestions that senior figures from ANZ may appear there soon. However, there are also fears that this year's bonuses will be adversely impacted by war in the Middle East.
Nomura's year end is not until the end of this month and bonuses at the Japanese bank are not usually announced until May. This gives Nomura plenty of time to adjust payments downwards to take account of losses or uncertainty due to the war.
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