Hedge fund falters, but traders still earn £85m
TRADERS at a London hedge fund shared £85million in pay and bonuses last year – despite the fund’s faltering performance.
Accounts for Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP, the London arm of Brevan Howard, show the partnership’s 46 members received £35 million in pay, £41 million ‘in relation to operating activities’ and £14 million in shares of profits. Some partners, which include companies as well as individuals, put money back into the partnership during the year, totalling £5 million.
Brevan Howard has suffered from poor performance over the last two years. Its $24billion (£16 billion) flagship investment fund recorded its first annual loss in 11 years in 2014, it emerged last week, declining by 0.8 per cent. The Master Fund generated a return of just 2.7 per cent after fees in 2013 too, prompting an apology from co-founder Alan Howard.
But while still huge, the sums represent a fall in the payout in comparison with previous years. The £85million of payments compared with £100million the year before, and £344million the year before that.
While the Master Fund fell by 0.8 per cent in 2014, sources close to the hedge fund said that the strategy it was pursuing, known as a ‘macro’ strategy, had been challenging over the last few years for all funds in the field.
The London office represents only a part of the Brevan Howard business, which is headquartered in Jersey and which has offices in Geneva, New York, Hong Kong and Washington.