Maxwell Lee, a rising star in the commodities sector, is departing Jain Global after less than a year as a portfolio manager. He joined the hedge fund founded by Bobby Jain last November, but his exit has recently been confirmed by reliable sources.
Previously, Lee made a name for himself at Bank of America, where he was promoted to director at the young age of 27, becoming the youngest director in the bank’s commodities division, as noted in his Forbes 30 Under 30 profile. Lee’s roles included head of commodity and FX systematic strategy trading, and he later ascended to managing director before leaving for Jain Global.
Despite attempts to reach Lee for comments, he remained unavailable. Jain Global also chose not to comment on his departure.
The firm, launched with considerable excitement in 2024, has experienced a tumultuous first year. Its commodities division, led by former Macquarie executive David Hochberg, accounted for about 13% of the firm’s capital allocation as of July. Overall, the hedge fund is up 2.4% in 2025 after a modest gain of 0.2% in July, though the specific performance of the commodities unit remains unclear.
According to industry data from PivotalPath, commodities trading has been among the least effective hedge fund strategies globally in 2025 and over the past year.