- Laura Sterner, Steve Cohen’s top fundraiser, is leaving Point72.
- Sterner has worked for Cohen since 2015 and was critical to raising billions for the firm’s relaunch.
- A person close to the $37 billion manager said Sterner’s deputy will assume her responsibilities.
Steve Cohen’s $37 billion hedge fund is losing what the firm describes as its “primary point of contact with external investors,” three people with knowledge told Business Insider.
Laura Sterner, the global head of capital development and investor relations at Point72 Asset Management, is departing the manager after working for Cohen for nearly a decade. A person close to the firm said Sterner is taking on a senior role at a healthcare venture.
Sterner has worked with Cohen since 2015, when the firm was managing Cohen’s personal capital, and was an “integral part” of the firm’s nearly $4 billion fundraise in 2018 when the firm reopened to external capital, according to her bio on the firm’s website.
Cohen, the owner of Major League Baseball’s New York Mets, was barred from managing outside cash for two years following a settlement with federal regulators, which investigated Point72’s predecessor, SAC Capital, for insider trading. The former firm pleaded guilty — and paid a $1.8 billion fine — but Cohen was not personally charged and did not admit or deny liability for the actions of a few of his employees as a part of the settlement.
Sterner has been in her current leadership role since Point72 started taking outside capital, according to her LinkedIn, a period of time when the firm’s assets skyrocketed. Since 2020, the firm’s assets have more than doubled, and The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that the manager plans to return up to $5 billion in capital this year to investors following a strong performance in 2024.
Point72 made 19% last year, trailing only Schonfeld among its peer set, and beating out larger rivals Citadel and Millennium, BI previously reported.
A person close to the manager told BI that Elena Bukowski, the firm’s deputy head of capital development and investor relations, will take on Sterner’s responsibilities. Bukowski has been with the firm since 2018 and previously worked in marketing and investor relations for Tourbillon Capital, the now-shuttered hedge fund run by Jason Karp, a one-time portfolio manager at SAC Capital.
Sterner started her career at Lehman Brothers, according to her LinkedIn, and worked at UBS as the firm’s head of liquid alternative research before working as a consultant for several years.
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