Noam Gottesman
Traders at Gottesman's GLG Partners had a rough year in 2005, but they nonetheless managed to rack up impressive numbers. In addition to the FSA's seven-figure fine against star trader Philippe Jabre for insider trading, the firm is widely believed to have suffered significant drawdown during the second-quarter credit crunch. When the dust of 2005 finally settled, however, several of the funds at the $11 billion–in-assets firm had finished with chunky double-digit returns, notably cofounder Pierre Lagrange's $1 billion long/short fund, which finished 2005 with returns of almost 30 percent. In a tough year for relative-value funds, Jabre's $4 billion portfolio came in with a very respectable single-digit return. Gottesman, who founded the firm with Lagrange after the two left Goldman Sachs, continues to trade despite the considerable demands of being chief executive.