Hedge fund shop BlueMountain Capital Management has hired Scott Lessing as head of corporate research and Derek Smith as a senior portfolio manager. Lessing will take responsibility for company-specific and strategic market research across the firm, while Smith will focus on fundamental trading strategies.
 
Lessing served most recently as chief operating officer for Citi Global Wealth Management Investments, the alternative investments, investment advisory products, mutual funds, annuities and insurance unit of Citigroup’s wealth management division. Smith joins from Deutsche Bank, where he was a managing director of global credit trading. In that role, Smith managed the investment grade and high-yield credit cash and derivatives desks across the U.S. and Europe. 
 
BlueMountain has more than $5 billion in assets under management in its hedge funds. The firm recently sold a minority equity interest to publicly traded Affiliated Managers Group.