BlueCrest pay plummeted for partners, not the rest
If you were hoping that moving to BlueCrest, the hedge fund / family office of British billionaire Mike Platt would net you the pay rise you’ve been dreaming of, you might have been right – in 2022.
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The firm published London accounts for the year ending 31 March 2024 for BlueCrest Capital Management (UK) LLP (BCCMUK), its main partnership subsidiary, earlier this week. And on the face of it, things have gone quite badly at the firm.
Profit per member (UK legal jargon for partners in a partnership) at BCCMUK fell from £2.5m to £498k, an 80% drop, and the amount it paid to the unnamed member - probably Platt himself - with the largest entitlement fell from £78m to £4.4m. The number of members, most of whom are portfolio managers (PMs) also decreased, going from 63 to 46.
The change was driven by falling revenues. Turnover at BCCMUK went from £187m to £53m, a 72% decrease, while profit available for division to members went from £16m to £7m, a 54% drop.
Things weren't so painful for non-partners, though. Mere employees at BC capital management services limited (BCCMS), a limited company that manages “the provision of office, infrastructure, and employment services” to the rest of BlueCrest, enjoyed average pay of £479k per head. This was on a par with last year, while their number increased from 278 to 315.
BlueCrest’s legal structure, however, might be obfuscating some results. Although turnover at BCCMUK fell by 72%, turnover at BCCMS actually increased – from £125m to £174m. The fund operates a number of interconnected firms, as most hedge funds do, with domiciles in the Channel Islands, Singapore, and the Cayman Islands.
What’s also confusing about the partnership’s profit plunge is the fact that BlueCrest did pretty well in 2023, all things considered. The Financial Times reported earlier this year that it had returned a very respectable 20% in 2023 and was in “late-stage talks” with 30 portfolio managers about joining, which would be in addition to the 170 or so it had at the time of writing. Convincing a top trader to work at BlueCrest is not a tough sell. It has a reputation of paying more pnl – around 30%, compared to most hedge funds’ 20% - to its portfolio managers than just about anywhere else in the industry.
BlueCrest has been diversifying away from its macro trading heritage and towards new areas like commodities trading. Results have been mixed. People are coming and going from the fund as a consequence.
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