Is this why only 5% of Brevan Howard's traders are moving to Geneva?

So much for the exodus of London hedge fund trading talent to Geneva. Yes, it emerged yesterday that Alan Howard is going to Geneva, but it emerged too that the Geneva office is likely to be staffed by only 7 of Brevan Howard's 200 traders by the end of this year. The remaining 193 are hanging on in London.

As The Times points out, Alan Howard has several reasons other than the UK tax rate to relocate: 1) he's had a house in Switzerland 'for years;' 2) his wife is French; and 3) his children are bilingual. He has clearly been erring on the side of Swissness for years.

However, the failure of Brevan's other traders to follow en masse suggests many are happy to swallow high taxes and crumbling infrastructure and stay put in Mayfair. This may have something to do with the extortionate cost of living in Geneva. However, it may also have something to do with the possibility that they won't work at Brevan Howard for very long.

Bloomberg reported last year that Brevan Howard asks its traders to leave if they make a loss of more than 12%. One headhunter claims this translates into a high rate of staff turnover.

"It's fairly common for traders to leave Brevan Howard after less than two years," he alleges. "If you're a UK trader with a wife and children in London, it may not seem worthwhile moving to Switzerland, buying a house and putting your kids in foreign schools if you don't know how long it will last."

A spokesman for Brevan Howard declined to comment on staff turnover. However, he pointed out that including middle and back office staff, the Geneva office is likely to have 38 people by the end of the year. With only 9 or 10 traders, this would appear to confirm Brevan's big commitment to risk management.