$33 billion Brevan Howard's two biggest funds lagged macro peers last year. Here are the returns.

Brevan Howard Asset Management, one of the world's largest macro hedge fund platforms with $33 billion in combined assets across its two primary vehicles, substantially lagged peer performance in 2025. The firm's Alpha Strategies fund gained 8.0% for the year, while its flagship Master Fund—the 20-year-old cornerstone of the platform—returned only 0.8%, according to Business Insider reporting on year-end results.

The underperformance stands in sharp contrast to the broader macro hedge fund landscape, where competing strategies delivered double-digit returns. This disparity is particularly notable given that 2025 proved to be an exceptionally favorable year for macro traders. The weak showing at Master Fund, which manages approximately $11 billion in assets, reflects strategic positioning that failed to align with prevailing market conditions and macro opportunities that competitors successfully capitalized upon.

The performance challenges contributed to a broader earnings decline at Brevan Howard, with company profits falling 20% as the flagship fund extended a three-year period of relative underperformance. This stands in contrast to Rokos Capital Management, the macro fund operated by Brevan Howard co-founder Christopher Rokos, which delivered approximately 21% in 2025 on top of a 30.7% gain in 2024—underscoring the divergent fortunes of strategies operating in the same macro space during the period.

The results highlight competitive pressures facing even well-established alternative managers in periods when strategic execution becomes the primary differentiator. Brevan Howard's position as a leading platform specializing in global macro and digital assets remains intact based on asset scale, but the 2025 returns raise questions about tactical positioning and portfolio management relative to peer implementation of similar macro strategies.