What's it like to work for Mike Platt at BlueCrest Capital Management?

efinancialcareers.com:

If you want to work for afamily office that was previously a hedge fund and that’s run by a mysterious figure from Preston in Lancashire who’s kind to his mother, then good news: Mike Platt is hiring at BlueCrest. The Financial Times reported earlier this month that Platt intends to hire 30 portfolio managers, to add to the 170 “pods” it has already. The new hires, some of whom are already in process, will reportedly focus on areas like macro, commodities and systematic strategies. 

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Anyone heeding the call of Platt will probably understand the number one reason for working for him: while most hedge funds pay their portfolio managers 20% of profits, BlueCrest pays 30%. BlueCrest only manages Mike’s money these days, so there’s no need to share the upside with external investors. 70% goes to Mike and the organization; the rest goes to the portfolio manager who generated the pnl.

It's a formula that appeals. Platt’s recent hires include Zachary Sandler, a former Deutsche Bank rates trader, who joined BlueCrest last month from Brevan Howard, Mark Orsley, a global macro portfolio manager from Tudor, and Mark Bowden, a former macro portfolio manager from Millennium. Talent from the big multistrategy funds clearly finds BlueCrest appealing.

People at BlueCrest can be loyal. Platt started the fund with external investors nearly 24 years ago. Some of his acolytes, like Manuel Aranzana, the Geneva-based head of systematic trading have been there nearly as long. 

Nonetheless, Platt can be a hard task master. Writing nearly 10 years ago, the Financial Times quoted Platt as saying his ideal hire is one who, starts work at “seven o’clock on Sunday morning when his kids are still in