High-paying hedge fund sees profits slide by 60%, increases money management headcount by 40%

Tudor Capital Management has been hiring portfolio managers over the past 12 months despite a dramatic reduction in profits.

In another indication that hedge fund hiring doesn’t necessarily reflect the buoyancy of their revenues, Tudor brought in an additional 10 investment management staff for its London operation over the last year, despite profits slipping from $163m to $63.7m over the past 12 months.

Tudor Capital Europe LLP has just filed its accounts for the year to 31 March 2015 on Companies House in the UK. It’s been a comparatively tough year for the hedge fund, with profits falling by 61%, and pay for its 21 partners slipping from $159.9m to a mere $59.7m.

On a per head basis, this means an average pay per member at Tudor of $2.8m, compared to $8.4m in 2014. However, the highest paid partner received $20.9m in 2015 and $58.1m for the previous 12 months.

Headcount, however, has been heading up. It has 21 partners now, compared to 19 in 2014, and overall headcount in the London office now stands at 80 – up from 71 last year. However, while administrative employee numbers were relatively static, it brought in an additional 10 money management staff, with headcount in that division now at 35 – a 40% increase on 2014.

Tudor brought in some senior staff towards the end of 2014. As we revealed, it hired former Goldman Sachs MD Robert Gold, who was latterly working for hedge fund Idalion Capital, and Will Holt, a former partner at systematic hedge fund Octave Investment Management.

However, if headcount has gone up, remuneration has headed south. Average pay per head for its rank and file employees was $256.2k in 2015, down from $311.2k in 2014.