We have signs that Brevan Howard is hiring people from banks, plus a warning about hedge fund interviews generally

Last time we looked at Brevan Howard (in May) it was in a cautionary context and we said that Brevan Howard didn't really seem to be hiring anyone in London. This was despite its earlier suggestion that it might quite like to hire some former traders from investment banks.

We take this back. Brevan Howard has hired someone. Actually, it's hired five people. Two of them are from banks.

The most exciting of its hires is probably Alastair Hollingdale, formerly a rates trader at UBS. Alastair joined Brevan Howard in July. The FSA register shows him becoming officially active yesterday. Also of interest is Mark Pattison, formerly a repo trader at Deutsche. Brevan has also hired: Luca Masiero, an Imperial graduate and former HSBC quantitative intern, Miriam Porat, a risk professional from Israeli Bank Leumi and Kunal Jindle, about whom we know nothing.

Nevertheless, the trend - as evidenced by the graph below from research firm IMAS - has not been positive for headcount at Brevan Howard in London in 2012. Last year it added 27 people. This year, it's added those 5.

Brevan Howard, FSA approved persons 2012 

Source: IMAS

If Brevan Howard won't have you, we understand that BlueCrest may also be hiring. It's rumoured to have recruited Matthew Haigh from Citigroup. Haigh's FSA record shows he left Citi in June. 

However, recruiters offer a word of caution for anyone who may wish to move from banking to hedge funds generally: be prepared to interview repetitively and very possibly get nowhere.

"A lot of hedge funds will interview for the fun of it," says one hedge fund recruiter. "They like to meet people and will say they have a job, but it will be pulled if they have a bad month."

Another recruiter specialising in trading recruitment says he doesn't deal with hedge funds for this reason. "Most of their hires are made directly," he says, "it's very difficult for us to make a fee."