Brevan Howard, DRW Back Fintech Firm Set to Manage Brevan Fund
- Edge Focus uses machine learning to analyze consumer loans
- Brevan plans to launch consumer lending fund in coming months
The Brevan Howard Asset Management LP office building at 55 Baker Street in London, U.K., on Aug. 23, 2021
Photographer: Jason Alden/BloombergBrevan Howard Asset Management, the $16 billion hedge fund, and quantitative trading group DRW Holdings are buying a minority stake in fintech firm Edge Focus Partners in a bet that consumer lending will continue to expand beyond banks.
As part of the transaction, Edge Focus, whose models use machine learning to predict credit-default risk, will run a fund for Brevan Howard that will purchase short- and medium-term loans from lending platforms and other financial institutions.
“Our experience, relationships and technology have allowed us to curate portfolios that have attracted interest from institutional investors looking for new uncorrelated strategies,” Edge Focus Chief Operating Officer Hirak Biswas said in an emailed statement.