Alan Howard to step down as Brevan Howard CEO
Billionaire trader hands day-to-day management of hedge fund firm to risk chief Aron Landy
Billionaire trader Alan Howard is to step down as chief executive of Brevan Howard, handing day to day leadership of the hedge fund firm to a lieutenant as he concentrates on investing and overseeing a widening group of businesses.
Brevan, which manages $7.5bn in assets, said in a note to investors on Tuesday that Aron Landy, the firm’s chief risk officer, will become chief executive.
The management shake-up, which will take effect before the end of the year, will help Mr Howard “focus on his own trading activities”, the firm said, adding that he would remain closely involved with the firm’s investment strategies.
It has become common practice for the founders and owners of hedge fund firms to relinquish the chief executive role, which can involve anything from day-to-day decisions on the investment business to raising assets, in order to save time and focus on running money.
London-based credit specialist CQS, for instance, set up and controlled by Sir Michael Hintze, last year hired former London Stock Exchange chief Xavier Rolet as chief executive in a bid to drive asset growth.
The shake-up comes as Mr Howard is working to revive the firm, which was once considered the gold standard of macro hedge fund investing. Until 2014 its flagship fund boasted a record of never losing money in a calendar year.
A run of lacklustre returns and a client exodus reduced assets from around $40bn to single-digit billions of dollars.
But strong gains last year, helped by bets against Italian bonds, and a 7.5 per cent gain in its main fund this year, aided by bets on major bond yields falling, have contributed to a recovery for the firm, which has raised around $2bn this year.
Among Brevan’s other portfolios, its Alpha Strategies fund has gained 11.3 per cent this year, while its AS Macro Master fund, run by trader Alfredo Saitta, is up 8.8 per cent.
Mr Howard is also building a portfolio of other companies that he controls, even though day-to-day decisions are taken by the firms’ chief executives.
Brevan has spun out Coremont, its back office and technology platform, which is run by Jev Mehmet. Mr Howard also owns Elwood Asset Management, which manages his personal cryptocurrency assets and which is launching funds for external investors. The firm is headed by former Brevan staffer Bin Ren.
As part of the shake-up, Alexandre Assouline, Brevan’s deputy chief risk officer, will become chief risk officer.