Billionaire Alan Howard Returning Cash to Investors

Billionaire Alan Howard Returning Cash to Investors

Billionaire fund manager Alan Howard is returning cash to clients in the Brevan Howard AH Master Fund he launched four years ago to “make bigger and riskier bets,” according to a recent Bloomberg article.

The article reports, “The move marks a reversal for the manager who was in talks late last year to raise another $500 million in the fund after having doubled investors’ cash in the early days of the pandemic.” The firm is secretive about its total assets under management, and the article notes that “removing external investors means that Howard’s personal track record will remain private.”

Howard is reportedly one of many macro hedge fund mangers who started their own funds to “make bolder bets following years of sub-par performance.” According to the article, Howard and a group of his colleagues have been instrumental in turning the firm’s business around, noting that last year, it saw record gains of 99% and was able to “lure back” clients after a dip in assets in 2013 from $40 billion to $6 billion. As of the end of March, the article reports that the firm managed $14.6 billion.

Early last year, the Brevan Howard AH Master Fund was one of the firm’s most profitable, doubling its gains amid the volatility brought on by the pandemic. In 2018, the fund earned 37% in a single month, the article notes, adding that it “marked one of the most lucrative phases of Howard’s trading career.”