Michael Grad, the global head of business development at Bluecrest Capital, is set to leave the firm founded by billionaire Michael Platt. Grad has been a key talent scout and allocator at Bluecrest since 2017, joining from Millennium, but he and other senior executives have not commented on his departure.
Recognized as one of the top business development executives in the industry, Grad has a remarkable ability to attract talented portfolio managers across various strategies, which is a highly sought-after skill among hedge fund managers.
Bluecrest, once managing over $35 billion, transitioned to a family office in 2016 following a period of underperformance. Grad played a significant role in the firm’s rebuild post-transition, which now includes 150 independent trading teams globally.
Since resuming operations with outside capital, Bluecrest has seen impressive returns, achieving 153% in 2022, 20% in 2023, and 38% in the previous year. The firm reported a 28% increase through May 2023, largely due to successful currency bets against the US dollar amid geopolitical shifts.
Industry insiders expressed surprise at Grad’s departure given his prominence and Bluecrest’s strong performance. As the competition for investment talent intensifies among top firms like Citadel and Millennium, the importance of business development teams—responsible for attracting and retaining portfolio managers—has increased.
Grad is among a small group of senior professionals who worked under Peter Hornick, a former Millennium executive who has also led teams at ExodusPoint and Brevan Howard. In early 2024, Bluecrest promoted Jake Lindsay and Mungo Strachan to lead the US and European business development efforts, respectively.
Although Bluecrest operates differently than a traditional multimanager hedge fund—managing no outside capital—it functions similarly, with numerous trading teams executing diverse strategies that lead to substantial payouts for successful portfolio managers.