Overview
London-based Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP is a global macro fund, investing in the global fixed-income and foreign-exchange markets. The company, one of the five largest hedge-fund managers in Europe, is planning to offer its funds for retail investors.
Brevan Howard, which focuses on fixed-income arbitrage, is known as a competitive shop where traders work largely on their own. Founder and chief executive Alan Howard is chief investment officer and he sits in the middle of the trading floor overseeing the action. Traders have a multiyear incentive plan, which pays annual bonuses in segments that can be held back if performance falters.
Howard is an ex-Credit Suisse global bond trading chief with a degree in chemical engineering. His charitable foundation is among the sponsors of the UK Jewish Film Festival and he also is a supporter of Israel and other Jewish causes. Lord Andrew Turnbull, former head of the British civil service, is chairman of BH Global, one of the firm's publicly traded funds. The word "Brevan" in the firm's name is taken from the first initials of its other founding partners' last names along with the vowels e and a: B for Jean-Philippe Blochet, R: Christopher Rokos, V: James Vernon, and N: Trifon Natsis. Blochet recently left to join rival Moore Europe Capital Management.