Citadel set to hire Credit Suisse hedge fund exec

BOSTON, April 16 (Reuters) - Citadel Investment Group will hire senior executive Nick Taylor away from Credit Suisse (CSGN.VX), a source familiar with the $20 billion hedge fund group's plans said on Wednesday.

Taylor, who ran Modal Capital Partners, one of Credit Suisse's in-house hedge funds, will be the latest in a string of executives who have left big banks to join the Chicago-based fund firm.

Citadel and Credit Suisse declined to comment on the matter.

Last month Citadel said Patrik Edsparr, former head of fixed income at JPMorgan Chase (JPM.N), would join the hedge fund to run its European division this summer.

Citadel has long been an attractive place to work for former bankers. The pull may be even stronger now that many hedge funds are considered to be financially sounder than many large banks that face problems from the credit crisis.

Because hedge funds tend to charge performance fees on top of management fees, the payouts there often dwarf Wall Street salaries, according to industry experts.

For exemple, Citadel's founder, Ken Griffin, ranks as one of the industry's five highest paid managers, according to Alpha Magazine, which estimated his 2007 pay at $1.5 billion. (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; editing by John Wallace)