Ranked: Britain’s richest hedge fund managers – Michael Platt prospers, but it’s hard times for Harding
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 last year went 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.
Read more: Activist shareholder Hohn requests meeting to remove LSE chairman
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.
You can find the full results below:
Name
Hedge fund
2018 wealth
Wealth increase/decrease
1
Michael Platt
BlueCrest Capital
£3bn
Up £600m
2
Robert Miller and Princess Marie-Chantal and family
Search Investment Group
£2bn
Up £420m
3
Sir Michael Hintze
CQS
£1.38bn
Up £100m
4
Alan Howard
Brevan Howard
£1.01bn
Down £30m
5
David Harding
Winton Capital
£1bn
Down £300m
5
Sir Chris Hohn
TCI Fund Holding
£1bn
Up £180m
7
Chris Rokos
Brevan Howard/ Rokos Capital Management
£775m
Up £75m
8
Crispin Odey and Nichola Pease
Odey Asset Management
£750m
Up £75m
9
John Armitage
Egerton Capital
£540m
No change
10
Sir Paul Marshall
Marshall Wace
£520m
Up £15m
12
Yan Huo
Capula Investment Management
£475m
Up £75m
12
Andrew Law
Caxton Associates
£475m
No change
14
William Bollinger
Egerton Capital
£450m
No change
15
Martin Hughes
Toscafund Asset Management
£420m
Up £30m
16
Jeremy Hosking
Marathon Asset Management
£355m
Up £25m
17
Jonathan Hiscock
GSA Capital
£325m
Up £5m
18
Sir John Beckwith
Pacific Asset Management
£310m
Up £8m
19
Sir Paul Ruddock
Lansdowne Partners
£300m
No change
19
Nicola Tangen
AKO Capital
£300m
Up £12m
19
Ross Turner
Pelham Capital
£300m
Up £77m