André Monteiro has left the largest Latin American alternative investment firm for its largest financial exchange.
Monteiro had been chief risk officer at $7.4 billion Gávea Investimentos, a Rio de Janeiro-based subsidiary of J.P. Morgan Asset Management and affiliate of Highbridge Capital Management. Starting next week, he will lead risk management for BM&FBovespa, the Brazilian publicly traded exchange.
Monteiro worked at Gávea for nine years, most of its history.The firm was co-founded by former Brazilian central bank president Arminio Fraga Neto and Luiz Henrique Fraga in 2003, and they still lead it.
Daniel Tonholo replaces Monteiro. He was the firm's deputy chief risk officer since November 2010.
Gávea chief executive officer Amaury Bier declined to comment. A representative for BM&FBovespa confirmed the hire.
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In September, equities volume for Brazilian-owned BM&FBovespa totaled about $68 billion over 18 million trades.
The flagship hedge fund Gávea Fund, which employs a global macroeconomic long/short strategy, is up 1.26 percent this year through Oct. 4, according to investor materials. The Absolute Return Latin American Equity Index, which tracks hedge funds that invest in regional stocks, is up 2.51 percent though September. The Absolute Return Macro Index is up 2.99 percent over the same period.
Gávea is positive about Brazilian stocks in the long run despite price drops this year for many companies' shares.
"Even though we remain cautious … we still hold a constructive view on the stock market in Brazil. Volatility and exaggerated pessimism may result in large disparities in assets' risk/return," Gávea said in a letter to investors in September. "Therefore, the current scenario could generate attractive opportunities by reevaluating these opportunities in our stock selection process."
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—By CNBC's Lawrence Delevingne. Follow him on Twitter @ldelevingne.
