A star fundraiser regarded as instrumental in helping Citadel's assets recover from the financial crisis is to leave the US hedge fund to focus on her work with a Lebanon-based education charity.

Anita Nassar, global co-head of distribution at Citadel, will step down from her role on November 1 after eight years at the firm to focus on fundraising for Teach for Lebanon, a charity set up to educate under-privileged children, including around 500,000 Syrian refugees that need access to Lebanese schools.