BlueCrest hired Bank of America's systematic macro trader in London

BlueCrest has a macro trading pedigree, so it's not entirely surprising that the house of Platt has a tendency to hire macro traders, particularly at this point in the year when bonuses are fading from view.

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Accordingly, BlueCrest's latest senior recruit is Maurice Taieb, the self-proclaimed former head of systematic rates trading for EMEA at Bank of America. 

Bank of America didn't respond to a request to comment, but the FCA Register says Taieb left there on June 30th. He joined BlueCrest on July 2nd. It's possible that gardening leave doesn't apply when you're going from a bank to what is effectively a family office. 

BlueCrest is in the market for talent. Last month it hired Sam Tabari, a circa 28-year-old rates trader from Goldman Sachs, and made him a partner. Taieb also been made a partner at BlueCrest. By our calculation, Taieb is in his mid-40s.   

Taib's entire 23 year-career had been at BofA, until now. He is French, but has a masters' qualification in applied mathematics from Columbia. Taib is a purported specialist in the use of machine learning for systematic macro trades. 

The Financial Times reported in early June that BlueCrest had gained 28% year-to-date. In May 2024, it reported that BlueCrest was adding portfolio managers across macro and systematic strategies.

BlueCrest is an appealing place to work because it doesn't manage external money and therefore doesn't have to share profits with investors. As a result, portfolio managers there famously get to keep 30% of their profits. 

Working for Mike Platt isn't easy, though. Churn at BlueCrest can be high. Speaking over 10 years ago, Platt said he likes to hire the sort of person who "gets up at 7 o’clock on Sunday morning when his kids are still in bed and logs onto a poker site so that he can pick off the U.S. drunks coming home on Saturday night."

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