Key Takeaways
- • Leda Braga's newly launched Systematica Investments generated a 9.52% net-of-fees return in January 2015 for its $7.6 billion flagship BlueTrend fund, driven primarily by bond positions with secondary gains from interest rate and equity trades.
- • Braga, 48, manages approximately $8.2 billion in assets under management, positioning her as the most powerful female hedge fund manager operating her own independent firm globally.
- • BlueTrend employs a managed futures strategy that trades futures across stocks, bonds, currencies, and commodities while identifying price trend patterns; this approach ranked among the best-performing hedge fund strategies in 2014.
- • Systematica Investments was launched in January 2015 following Braga's tenure at BlueCrest Capital Management, a prominent European hedge fund; Braga previously worked as a quantitative analyst at JPMorgan Chase on the derivatives research team.
- • The fund demonstrated resilience despite currency headwinds during the week of January 10, 2015, when unexpected Swiss National Bank policy moves weakened the euro and U.S. dollar against the franc, offsetting foreign exchange losses with gains in bonds and equities.
Summary
Leda Braga has launched Systematica Investments with strong early momentum, as her flagship BlueTrend fund delivered a 9.52% gain net of fees during January 2015. The $7.6 billion fund's performance was anchored by unspecified bond positions that generated the largest portion of returns, supplemented by gains from interest rate positioning, equity exposure, and energy-related securities. Currency bets produced modest losses during the week of January 10, coinciding with a surprise Swiss National Bank policy announcement that sent the Swiss franc surging against the euro and U.S. dollar—a move that inflicted losses on many market participants. However, BlueTrend's bond and equity positions more than compensated for this foreign exchange headwind.
Braga, 48, and Geneva-based, manages approximately $8.2 billion in assets, making her the most influential female hedge fund manager operating an independent firm. Her background combines quantitative rigor with institutional experience: she earned a Ph.D. in engineering from Imperial College London, where she subsequently lectured, before joining JPMorgan Chase as a quantitative analyst focused on derivatives research. At JPMorgan, she worked alongside Michael Platt, who later co-founded BlueCrest Capital Management in 2000. Braga spent years at BlueCrest before establishing Systematica Investments in January 2015.
BlueTrend employs a managed futures strategy, trading futures contracts across multiple asset classes—equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities—while systematically identifying and following price trends. This approach proved among the strongest-performing hedge fund strategies during 2014, providing a solid foundation for the fund's January outperformance in the new year.
Braga, 48, and Geneva-based, manages approximately $8.2 billion in assets, making her the most influential female hedge fund manager operating an independent firm. Her background combines quantitative rigor with institutional experience: she earned a Ph.D. in engineering from Imperial College London, where she subsequently lectured, before joining JPMorgan Chase as a quantitative analyst focused on derivatives research. At JPMorgan, she worked alongside Michael Platt, who later co-founded BlueCrest Capital Management in 2000. Braga spent years at BlueCrest before establishing Systematica Investments in January 2015.
BlueTrend employs a managed futures strategy, trading futures contracts across multiple asset classes—equities, fixed income, currencies, and commodities—while systematically identifying and following price trends. This approach proved among the strongest-performing hedge fund strategies during 2014, providing a solid foundation for the fund's January outperformance in the new year.
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