Key Takeaways
- • Brevan Howard Asset Management cut about 7% of its trading workforce, affecting roughly a dozen traders across its New York, London and Abu Dhabi offices, according to people with knowledge of the matter cited by Bloomberg.
- • The firm is left with almost 150 traders following the reduction.
- • The cuts followed underperformance by two of the firm's main hedge funds relative to peers last year (2024).
- • The reported job cuts were made by people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified, so the details are unconfirmed by the firm on the record.
Summary
Brevan Howard Asset Management has cut about 7% of its trading workforce, according to Bloomberg, citing people with knowledge of the matter. The reductions affected roughly a dozen traders across the firm's offices in New York, London and Abu Dhabi. One of the people said the firm now has almost 150 traders remaining.
The cuts came after two of Brevan Howard's main hedge funds underperformed relative to their peers last year. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the details are private, so the report does not include an on-the-record comment from the firm.
The move reflects the pressure on discretionary macro and multi-strategy managers to justify their cost bases when fund returns lag competitors. For allocators, the report points to a headcount reduction at one of the larger global macro managers following a period of weaker relative performance.
The cuts came after two of Brevan Howard's main hedge funds underperformed relative to their peers last year. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the details are private, so the report does not include an on-the-record comment from the firm.
The move reflects the pressure on discretionary macro and multi-strategy managers to justify their cost bases when fund returns lag competitors. For allocators, the report points to a headcount reduction at one of the larger global macro managers following a period of weaker relative performance.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.