By Tom Cahill
Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) -- Jean-Philippe Blochet, a founding partner in Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP and the source of the "B" in its name, is leaving Europe's biggest hedge fund.
Blochet, 46, a French native, worked with co-founder Alan Howard on Credit Suisse First Boston's proprietary fixed-income trading desk before starting the London-based money manager in 2002. The first part of the firm's name comes from the initials of founding partners Blochet, Christopher Rokos, James Vernon and Trifon Natsis.
Blochet is at least the second European hedge-fund founder to step down this week. John Horseman of London's Horseman Capital Management LP said Nov. 12 he was leaving as manager of the Horseman Global Fund Ltd. Blochet, who was a currency trader at Credit Suisse, had taken a sabbatical in 2008.
"Over the last few years they've built up a very extensive infrastructure and business," said Clayton Heijman, founder and chief executive officer of Darwin Platform, an Amsterdam-based provider of hedge-fund services. "It's only natural that at a certain point of time people move on."
The Brevan Howard Master Fund, the firm's largest, returned 20.4 percent in 2008 when the average fund lost 19 percent, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc. The fund is up 18 percent this year through Nov. 6, Bloomberg data show.
Blochet declined to comment. Brevan Howard, which managed $25.7 billion at the end of September, confirmed his departure in an e-mail yesterday.
Management Team
Brevan Howard isn't expected to alter its management structure, according to people familiar with the firm. Blochet was part of the firm's macro team, focusing on currencies, interest rates and other investments linked to global economic trends.
Blochet completed the Marathon des Sables, a six-day, 151- mile (243 kilometer) foot race across the Sahara desert, in 2006. Competitors cover the equivalent of five and a half marathons over six days in temperatures reaching 120 degrees Farenheit (49 celsius), with packs for food and sleeping gear on their backs. The race, which raises money for charities, was described as "The Toughest Footrace on Earth" in the 2007 book "Seven Days in the Sahara" by an event competitor.
Blochet finished the race 157th out of 800 competitors, according to Marathon des Sables' Web site.
"Following his return from sabbatical last year, Jean- Philippe Blochet has decided to cease to be an active member of Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP," the company said in the e- mail.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Cahill in London at tcahill@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: November 13, 2009 19:01 EST
