Dear all,
Bluecrest capital is up 28% year-to-date. (up another 8% from the last Bloomberg update below). This should be one of the best performance among hedge funds globally until end-May this year.
Pls see the update from Financial Times.
Here are some interesting facts about Bluecrest that are obtained from friends still working in the industry.
Bluecrest adopts a strict 5-6% stop loss for all its trading teams lead by portfolio managers (PM). Capital allocation (around USD 100 mio - 250 mio book for new hires which can grow by 5X-10X with performance) will be cut in half after initial 3% loss and may lead to termination after another 3% loss. Bluecrest pay its trading teams and portfolio managers upto 30% of PnL generated from Bluecrest's own internal capital (after leverage). The paid is so attractive that some small/medium sized hedge fund managers with good track record closed their own hedge funds and go to work for Bluecrest when given an offer to join.
Regards
James
Michael Platt’s bet against US dollar helps drive BlueCrest to 28% gain
Hedge fund turned family office has long-term bearish stance on US currency
BlueCrest Capital Management, the hedge fund turned family office founded by billionaire Michael Platt, has gained more than 28 per cent this year after betting on a weakening US dollar.
Platt is bearish on the US currency on a long-term basis and has been positioned accordingly since President Donald Trump’s “liberation day” tariff blitz at the beginning of April, according to people familiar with the matter.
The announcement triggered further declines for the dollar, which has lost nearly 9 per cent this year as investors worry about the economic fallout from the president’s stop-start trade war.
Moody’s recent downgrade to the US credit rating and Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax bill have fuelled concerns about the sustainability of America’s debt, adding to the pressure on US Treasuries.
This year’s bet against the US currency has been a core position for BlueCrest.
It was hard to see the trend in the dollar reversing before the US midterm elections in November next year, barring a major macro event such as China invading Taiwan, said one of the people familiar with BlueCrest’s performance. “It does feel like this trade probably continues for a while,” they said.
BlueCrest was once one of the world’s biggest hedge funds, but after a period of poor performance and investor withdrawals in the early 2010s, Platt returned capital to investors and opted to convert the firm into a family office in 2015.
Since then, it has frequently notched up big gains. BlueCrest declined to comment.
The group employs 550 people globally across the organisation, including 150 independent trading teams overseen by Platt, across bonds, currencies, commodities and systematic strategies. It has about $5bn in capital and uses leverage to magnify its positions and to boost returns.
BlueCrest continues to hire aggressively, according to a second person familiar with the business, and notably is scaling up its presence in Dubai, where it recently received full regulatory approval to operate. The firm is known for paying its traders some of the largest profit shares in the hedge fund industry.
BlueCrest's Gains
Michael Platt's private investment firm continues to make money
Source: Bloomberg reporting
Note: BlueCrest’s returns are net of all fees and expenses; 2025 gains as of early April