Brevan, Rokos Step Up U.S. Hiring With Funds Vying for Talent

(Bloomberg) -- Chris Rokos and Alan Howard, former partners who are among the world's best-known macro hedge fund managers, are expanding their U.S. operations as they compete with larger firms for capital and staff.

Rokos Capital Management and Brevan Howard Asset Management tripled their U.S. workforces last year, according to regulatory filings. Together, they added almost 100 people in 2021, a trend that has continued this year. The firms also reported that their U.S. regulatory assets rose substantially, with Rokos's increasing nine-fold.

The firms are scooping up talent as macro funds are outperforming peers, creating huge demand for portfolio managers and computer savants. Rokos and Brevan are also moving into asset classes including cryptocurrency, creating a need for new hires.

“The hunt for macro talent is very strong,” said Claude Schwab, a managing director at the recruiting firm Solomon Page. “The firms have finally figured out that you have to have hubs everywhere.”

A Brevan Howard spokesman declined to comment. Rokos representatives didn't return telephone calls.

After Rokos left Brevan Howard to set up his own firm in 2015, he and Alan Howard have competed, primarily on their home turf, in London. They also established New York affiliates that had smaller staffs and primarily served as subadvisers for funds run out of London and other locations. The U.S. operations have started to expand by offering new products and managing more money.

At Rokos, firm-wide regulatory assets, a measure that incorporates leverage as well as client capital and investment gains, jumped to $8.9 billion at the end of December from $1.2 billion a year earlier, while the number of U.S. employees increased to 30 from 9, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

In 2021, Rokos Capital Management (US) originated its own fund, RCM Private Markets, a private equity vehicle that had some $109 million of regulatory assets as of Dec. 31, the filings show.

Brevan Howard US Investment Management last year began running a separate account for an institutional investor, according to its documents. The unit's regulatory assets rose to $8.7 billion last year from $6.3 billion the year before, while its workforce jumped to 88 people from 26. The firm is also expanding its BH Digital cryptocurrency unit.