Citigroup is set to relaunch the unit that oversees all of its hedge fund operations — Vikram Pandit’s old stomping grounds — but one of the biggest problems is picking a name for the damn thing. Citi Alternative Investments, as it’s called now, is in need of a new start after underperforming for two years. If they called it something like Citi Capital Advisors, maybe it would do a lot better, right? Or maybe they should just take the word Citi out altogether?
Some executives feared that dropping the Citi name could be a prelude to more dramatic action - such as a spin-off of the hedge fund parts of CAI, or the winding of hedge fund operations if the unit failed to raise more outside funds.
“No, we’re keeping Citi. They can never really get rid of us if we keep their name, right?” Ivana Trump, your thoughts.
Citi to relaunch troubled unit [FT]
