Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) has lost another executive in its internal hedge fund-like operation. Ali Hedayat, a managing director, has left the firm, reports Bloomberg. While it's unclear what he'll be doing next, no one would be surprised if he started his own hedge fund (hedge fund news). The departure follows the exit of Pierre Henri Flamand, who ran the Goldman Sachs Principal Strategies division from London.

So do two high-profile departures make for a trend? Are we about to see an exodus? One could argue that the Volcker Rule, which is not yet a rule, may be prompting some executives to take a long hard look at their futures with the bank. If they are going to be divested or cut back, perhaps they should be proactive about their careers and leave to set up a hedge fund now. This makes sense.

The fact is that executives at top banks have long been lured by the call of alternative investments (alternative investment news), where they'll be free from the bureaucracy they perceived at their very large banks. There will always be people leaving to set up funds. Apart from the regulatory context, this is really nothing new. 

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