BlueCrest Capital Management is planning to spin off its $6.2bn quantitative hedge fund BlueTrend into a separate investment firm.
Dubbed as Systematica Investments, the new firm will be headed by Leda Braga, BlueCrest’s head of systematic trading, and manager of the $8.3bn in BlueTrend Fund.
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Braga will take almost 100 BlueCrest staff along with her to the new firm.
However, BlueCrest is expected to hold a minority stake in the new firm. BlueTrend is a commodity-trading adviser that uses complex computer systems to try to profit from trends in global markets.
The new firm will start in January next year with about 100 staff based in Jersey, Geneva, Singapore, London and New York.
The new company will primarily focus on systematic hedge fund strategies which use complicated algorithms and computer-driven trading styles to make money from identifying patterns across financial markets.
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By GlobalDataThe move comes as the computer-driven fund has struggled poor performance and investor redemptions.
The spin off follows BlueTrend’ funds effort to cut its management fees from 2% to 1.5% earlier this month after assets tumbled in the past year.
Andrew Dodd, CFO of BlueCrest, said: "The new structure will allow her to focus exclusively on her clients."
Dodd said there had been an exchange of economic interests but that the partners in Systematica hadn’t paid cash to buy out the business and won’t retain a stake in BlueCrest, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Braga said that the independent BlueTrend intends to expand its product offering in time.
Meantime, BlueCrest has fired four equities portfolio managers in the U.S including the resignation of Jonathan Larkin, the firm’s head of U.S. equities.
