Hedge fund firm BlueCrest Capital Management to go private

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[December 01, 2015]  By Simon Jessop

LONDON (Reuters) - BlueCrest Capital Management, the $8 billion hedge fund firm founded by billionaire Michael Platt, said on Tuesday it would return all outside capital to investors and run the firm as a private partnership.

The decision was driven by increasing pressure on fees from investors, rising costs and a desire to compete more effectively for top traders, the firm said in a statement.

"We will be stronger and more flexible under our new business model, and see exciting opportunities to grow significantly in terms of numbers of trading teams and assets under management," Platt said.

"The new model provides the opportunity to create significant value for our partners, our traders and our staff, due to a step-change in our profitability. It will also allow us to enhance further our ability to attract the highest quality investment talent in markets across the globe."

Set up by Platt 15 years ago, BlueCrest employs more than 250 investment professionals trading fixed income, currencies, emerging markets, credit and equities out of nine offices. All would remain open after the move, BlueCrest said.

BlueCrest said its partner fund BSMA would continue to hold assets managed in the fixed income, currency and credit trading strategies, and the BlueCrest Equity Strategies Fund and the BlueCrest Emerging Markets Fund would be retained.

All other funds, including its BlueCrest Capital International and AllBlue Fund, are expected to close during 2016, it said.

After external clients have been given their cash back, the fund firm would still be left with several billion dollars in assets, a company spokesman said, without giving specific details.

Clients would receive around 75 percent of their cash back by the end of January and 90 percent by the end of the first quarter, BlueCrest said.

(Reporting by Simon Jessop; Editing by Steve Slater and Louise Heavens)

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