Hedge fund legend Steve Cohen is recruiting young trading talent in London and Asia

REUTERS/Steve Marcus

Steve Cohen is expanding his recruitment program outside the US.

The legendary hedge fund investor is expanding his Point72 Academy for recent college grads in London and Asia.

Students spend a year learning how to pick stocks, with courses on financial modeling and research. The program launched in the US last year.

Coursework also includes data science so that the young recruits can learn to incorporate alternative data into their models, Matthew Granade, Point72's chief market intelligence officer, told Business Insider Wednesday.

The "decision to further invest in the Academy Program by recruiting students internationally supports our aggressive growth strategy in Asia and Europe and helps us to capture multicultural talent that is critical to adding diversity of thought,” Marc Desmidt, CEO of Point72’s international business, said in a statement.

Cohen's family office, Point72 Asset Management, manages his billions of personal wealth. Cohen was banned from managing outside money until 2018 following charges of insider trading at his predecessor firm, SAC Capital.

The expansion of the academy follows the firm's recent growth in London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

Point72 launched its academy last year, at which point Business Insider took a look behind the scenes. Its current class includes 12 full-time participants, including two women, up from zero in the first class, according to a Point72 statement.

Few women work in the investment profession, particularly at hedge funds, one of the last industry's with a significant gender gap.

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