Key Takeaways
- • Brevan Howard is winding down the fund run by Alfreido Saitta, a former JPMorgan managing director in rates trading, after it lost 4.9% in the first quarter of 2024, according to Bloomberg as cited by eFinancialCareers.
- • The losses were attributed to failed bets on falling interest rates, and Saitta will leave once the fund has been wound down.
- • Louis Basger, who runs another Brevan Howard fund that lost 7.8%, is staying at the firm.
- • Brevan Howard is continuing to hire investment talent, most notably in its Alpha Strategies fund, which has about $12.5bn in AUM, even as it cuts underperforming systematic macro managers and some middle-office staff.
- • The Master fund, a macro multi-manager vehicle with roughly $12bn in AUM, is the firm's other large multi-manager fund.
Summary
Hedge fund Brevan Howard is closing a fund managed by Alfreido Saitta, according to Bloomberg, as reported by eFinancialCareers. The fund lost 4.9% in the first quarter of 2024 following what appears to have been failed bets on falling rates. Saitta will leave the firm once the fund has been wound down. Before joining Brevan Howard in 2011, he spent five years as a managing director in rates trading at JPMorgan and previously worked as a director in short-term interest rates trading at Citi.
The departure is also a reminder of the difficulty of hedge fund careers for rates traders, who have increasingly moved from banks to hedge funds over the years. Some traders are now moving in the opposite direction. Yun Zhou, a former macro portfolio manager at Brevan Howard, recently joined Citi as a New York-based managing director in rates options trading.
Brevan Howard has been removing underperforming portfolio managers, particularly in systematic macro, and cutting some middle-office staff, while still adding talent. The firm recently hired Leon Haack, a London-based credit analyst, from rival Balyasny Asset Management. Louis Basger, who ran another Brevan fund that lost 7.8%, is staying at the firm.
The firm runs two large multi-manager funds. The Master fund is a macro fund with approximately $12bn in AUM, while the Alpha Strategies fund, with approximately $12.5bn in AUM, leans toward relative value with limited directional risk. Alpha Strategies has been the focus of recent hiring, with additions across credit, systematic, emerging markets and commodities.
The departure is also a reminder of the difficulty of hedge fund careers for rates traders, who have increasingly moved from banks to hedge funds over the years. Some traders are now moving in the opposite direction. Yun Zhou, a former macro portfolio manager at Brevan Howard, recently joined Citi as a New York-based managing director in rates options trading.
Brevan Howard has been removing underperforming portfolio managers, particularly in systematic macro, and cutting some middle-office staff, while still adding talent. The firm recently hired Leon Haack, a London-based credit analyst, from rival Balyasny Asset Management. Louis Basger, who ran another Brevan fund that lost 7.8%, is staying at the firm.
The firm runs two large multi-manager funds. The Master fund is a macro fund with approximately $12bn in AUM, while the Alpha Strategies fund, with approximately $12.5bn in AUM, leans toward relative value with limited directional risk. Alpha Strategies has been the focus of recent hiring, with additions across credit, systematic, emerging markets and commodities.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.