11/05/18

Ranked: Britain's richest hedge managers - Michael Platt prospers, but its hard times for Harding

(City A.M.) -- The founder of BlueCrest Capital Michael Platt has retained his crown as the richest hedgie in the UK.

His wealth grew quicker than any other hedge fund manager's in the top 20, increasing by £600m to take his fortune to around £3bn.

Chris Hohn, the activist hedgie who has this year gone to war with London Stock Exchange chairman Donald Brydon, climbed up one place from last year's list, increasing his wealth by £180m up to £1bn.

But David Harding of Winton Capital took the biggest hit to his wealth, as it declined by £300m to £1bn, causing him to lose his third place on 2017's list to finish joint fifth.

Brevan Howard manager Alan Howard's wealth slipped slightly by £30m from 2017 figures, but his combined fortune of £1.01bn was still enough for him to jump one space to claim fourth spot.

The findings, revealed in the 2018 Sunday Times Rich List due to be published this Sunday, also showed that CQS manager Michael Hintze did well this year, growing his wealth by £100m to £1.38bn.

After losing 49.5 per cent of its value in 2016, Odey Asset Management boss and prominent Leave campaigner Crispin Odey's wealth continued to decline in 2018, as his wealth dropped by £25m to £750m, leaving him one place down in eighth.

City rottweiler Martin Hughes, who heads up Toscafund Asset Management, had his fortune increase by £30m to £420m.

Robert Watts, the Compiler of The Sunday Times Rich List, said:

“Hedgies barely featured in our first Sunday Times Rich List back in 1989. Now, in our 30th edition six of our billionaires made their fortunes in this world.

The recent volatility of global stock markets have provided opportunities for the City’s richest hedgies to gild their wealth.

But life as a billionaire hedge fund manager is not a one-way bet. Four big names of the hedge fund world have seen big falls in their wealth over the past year.

Managers tend to invest heavily in their funds, so if their fund bombs so does their own wealth.”

Here are the Top 10 Hedge Fund Managers: