Brevan Howard’s Main Hedge Fund Gains 6.8% as Panic Roils Market
Brevan Howard’s Main Hedge Fund Gains 6.8% as Panic Roils Market
(Bloomberg) -- Brevan Howard Asset Management’s flagship hedge fund rose 6.8% last week as the escalating coronavirus outbreak rocked markets.
The gain in the week through March 6 boosted the $3.2 billion macro fund’s returns this year to nearly 11%, according to a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg. A spokesman for the Jersey-based investment firm declined to comment.
Macro hedge funds like Brevan Howard’s sift through trends in global economies and geopolitics to bet on everything from currencies to interest rates and stock indexes. They are rebounding from years of mediocre returns through bets on fixed-income markets and gold, as well as by shorting stocks during the virus-fueled market turmoil. Overall, these funds gained about 1.5% in the first two months of the year, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc.
Brevan Howard’s rivals such as Greg Coffey’s Kirkoswald Global Macro Fund, Quadriga Asset Managers’ fund and Haidar Capital Management’s Jupiter Fund are also making money this year. Cove Capital SA, a macro hedge fund started by former Brevan Howard manager Louis Basger, gained about 4% last month. The $150 million fund made money with long bets on gold, U.S and German bonds as well as short bets on currencies and U.S. stocks, according to a spokesman.
Brevan Howard’s flagship hedge fund is managed by a group of traders including billionaire Alan Howard, who co-founded the firm, Alfredo Saitta, Fash Golchin and Minal Bathwal. Golchin’s fund, which runs an allocation for Brevan Howard’s main money pool, gained almost 14% in the first two months of the year.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nishant Kumar in London at nkumar173@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shelley Robinson at ssmith118@bloomberg.net, Patrick Henry, Chris Bourke
©2020 Bloomberg L.P.