The 2015 Sunday Times Rich List for Britain has a tie at the top of the hedge fund managers category. Alan Howard of Brevan Howard Asset Management and Mike Platt of BlueCrest Capital Management are both worth 1.5 billion pounds, according to the Sunday Times. Alan Howard was in first place last year, but he lost around 100,000 pounds as his fund had a tough year, allowing Platt to pull up into a tie with him for the richest hedge fund manager in the UK.
In general, 2014 was a very good year for hedge fund managers, as Howard was the only manager in the top 20 to see his wealth shrink.
Brevan Howard saw tough sledding in 2014
2014 was a difficult year for Brevan Howard Asset Management. The firm’s flagship macro hedge fund posted its first-ever calendar year loss and the commodities fund was shut down and funds returned to investors. Moreover, it was reported yesterday that three partners have left the firm within the last month.
More on 2015 Sunday Times Rich List
Mike Platt, the co-founder of BlueCrest Capital Management, had his ups and downs last year, but his wealth remained basically unchanged in 2014 at £1.5 billion. However, things might not be so rosy this year, as the BlueCrest Capital International hedge fund is down 5.4% so far in 2015, according to a knowledgeable source.
Of note, the fastest climbers up this year’s Rich List were husband and wife Crispin Odey and Nicola Pease, whose net worth soared £580 million to £1.1 billion in 2014. The Rich List pointed to the success of Odey Asset Management as the source of the new cash, as the hedge fund firm profits were up 300% last year.
Including the power couple and offering proof that the rich really do often get richer, there were seven billionaire entries on the list this year, up from just four billionaires a year ago.
Also joining the billionaire club this year was David Harding, the founder of Winton Capital Management, who saw 30% gains last year to top £1 billion in net worth.
