Brevan Howard Back-to-Back Monthly Losses Cut Into Record Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Brevan Howard Asset Management's flagship macro hedge fund lost 0.6% in June, suffering back-to-back monthly losses and giving up some of its record gains from March.

The decline follows a 0.9% loss in the $3.8 billion Brevan Howard Master Fund in May, according to letters to investors seen by Bloomberg. Preliminary estimates from Eurekahedge show that macro hedge fund peers made money, on average, in both months.

A spokesman for the Jersey-based investment firm declined to comment on the performance.

Macro hedge funds, which bet on economic trends, have generally bounced back this year amid coronavirus-induced market volatility. Traders have been able to exploit big swings in bond and currency markets to make money.

Brevan's decline still puts its flagship fund up 21.3% in the first half of the year, according to one of the letters. If that return is maintained for the full year, it would beat all bar one annual return since the fund was launched in 2003.

The firm, co-founded by billionaire Alan Howard, is rebounding from years of mediocre performance in its macro hedge fund. The master fund surged by 18.3% during the market turmoil in March, its best monthly gain, driven by interest rate trading across directional, volatility and relative value strategies in a range of different markets.

Separately, a hedge fund that Howard manages personally returned about 100% from the start of the year to the end of May.

Alan Howard's Hedge Fund Soars 100% in Virus-Fueled Chaos

Brevan Howard managed $9.4 billion at the end of May, according to a separate investor letter.

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