The FCA has secured US$101m (£76m) in redress for UK and other non-US investors in a fund sub-managed by BlueCrest Capital Management following accusations of conflicts of interest.
The payout puts to rest a lengthy legal battle and relates to accusations of misconduct that took place between 2011 and 2015.
BlueCrest is accused of failing to manage fairly a conflict of interest created by its role in managing both an investment fund exclusively for the benefit of its partners and employees and a flagship fund available to external investors.
UK-based traders were moved from the external fund to work on the internal fund, which they had a vested interest in, which external investors were not informed about.
The FCA said the firm’s failure to manage the conflict led to a sub-standard service for the external fund and its investors.
In December 2020 the SEC announced that BlueCrest had agreed to settle charges without admitting or denying the SEC's findings. The FCA then published a decision notice against BlueCrest for conflicts of interest failings in December 2021, which BlueCrest referred to the Upper Tribunal.
Following several appeals by both BlueCrest and the FCA, BlueCrest’s appeal was due to be heard by the UK Supreme Court on 12 and 13 November 2025, but that appeal has now been withdrawn.
The redress scheme will be overseen by BlueCrest and is applicable to non-US investors that were not eligible to be compensated by the SEC’s Fair Fund.
Affected investors will be contacted on next steps by BlueCrest or a scheme administrator if it chooses to appoint one.
Therese Chambers, joint executive director of enforcement and market oversight, said: “This redress scheme brings a positive end to a long-running case. BlueCrest put its own interest ahead of the external fund and provided a substandard service, which meant that investors lost out.
“After many years of legal challenge, the FCA has now successfully secured a substantial US$101m for affected investors.”
