- BlueCrest Capital Management, Michael Platt’s family office, reportedly returned 73% net in 2025 versus about 21.5% for the FTSE 100.
- Since ditching external capital in 2015, it has delivered outsized results, including 153% in 2022 and 38% in 2024, driven by macro trading and leveraged, concentrated bets.
- A major 2025 driver was a short US dollar position amid tariff, debt and geopolitical volatility, supported by a large, multi-team global trading setup.
- Key risks are whether such returns are repeatable and how regulatory, governance and UK tax issues could constrain the model after past FCA conflict-of-interest fallout.
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BlueCrest’s brilliant 73% return in 2025 marks one of the largest single-year gains recorded by any major family office or hedge fund in recent memory. By comparison, traditional equity benchmarks like the FTSE 100 lagged far behind at ~21.5% for the same period. Crucially, this performance is a continuation of BlueCrest’s strategy and elevated returns since its transition from hedge fund to family office—post-2015 its results have repeatedly stood out, including a 153% return in 2022 and a 38% return in 2024.
The institutional structure—private partners only, no redemption pressures from external investors—has enabled BlueCrest to take concentrated, levered bets and tolerate drawdowns that many conventional funds would avoid. Its recent major positions, such as a bearish view of the US dollar that has played out in 2025, suggest strong macro‐oriented conviction. Talent recruitment, particularly hiring portfolio managers with track records in rates, FX, and macro, indicates that BlueCrest is doubling down on its edge through human capital as well as strategy.
However, sustaining 70-percent+ returns year after year is daunting. Tail risk, liquidity events, regulatory and tax shifts—especially given BlueCrest’s contentious history with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) over conflicts of interest and its exposure to UK tax regime rulings—could impact both profitability and its operating model. Moreover, market regimes may revert: what works in high-volatility, policy-driven dislocations may not scale in more tranquil environments.
Strategic implications for allocators and industry watchers include reassessment of family office capacity to outperform hedge funds, rethinking risk budgets that focus on Sharpe ratio rather than absolute returns, and closer scrutiny on governance, pay structures, and regulatory exposure in ultra‐high return operations. BlueCrest’s hiring activity and its move to obtain regulatory approval in Dubai suggest growth ambitions beyond its current footprint.
Open questions include: What is the true asset base and leverage employed to generate the 73% gain? How much of that performance is repeatable vs regime-dependent? What is the risk of regulatory or tax policy shifts—such as those governing trader compensation or internal vs external fund conflict—especially in its UK operations? And what happens if BlueCrest’s style becomes crowded?
Supporting Notes
- BlueCrest gained ~73% in 2025, outperforming the FTSE 100 (~21.5%) over the same period.
- Since converting into a family office in 2015, BlueCrest has posted strong returns: 153% in 2022, 38% in 2024, prior returns of 50–54% in 2016-17.
- One of its largest positions has been a bet against the US dollar, which appreciated as a trade and macro risk theme given tariff announcements and concerns over US debt rating.
- BlueCrest operates around 150 independent trading teams and about $5 billion in internal capital, leveraging cross-asset volatility, FX, rates, commodities, and systematic strategies.
- The firm agreed to redress $101 million to investors previously misled by conflict between its internal/employee fund and external investor portfolio (pre-2015).
- BlueCrest’s UK unit revenue jumped 149% to £130.8 million (year ending 31 March 2025), with profit rising 113% to £43.5 million; but pay per partner fell sharply, with number of partners dropping and top paid partner’s pay falling from £4.4 million.
- Taxation rulings: UK lost a legal case about tax treatment of senior traders in BlueCrest’s UK operations, indicating exposure to changing tax or regulatory norms.