Kerry Duffain has joined alternative asset manager BlueCrest Capital Management as head of the firm's UK institutional business.

Kerry Duffain has joined alternative asset manager BlueCrest Capital Management as head of the firm's UK institutional business. Duffain, who was previously global head of consultant relations at Pioneer Global Investments, will report to BlueCrest Capital's head of investor relations, Piers Westerman.

'Kerry has an impressive track record of generating new business and a strong professional reputation within the investment consultant community,' Westerman says. 'Her market knowledge and contacts are just some of the reasons we have appointed her and we are confident she will be invaluable to us as we continue to grow and expand our business.'

BlueCrest Capital was founded in 2000 by William Reeves and Mike Platt with an initial USD117m in assets under management. The firm is 75 per cent owned by its principals and about 25 per cent by an affiliate, Mann Group.

BlueCrest manages more than USD16bn in assets across 14 strategies, mostly for institutional investors, and has a total staff of 314 including 60 principals and 158 investment professionals at offices in London, New York, Boston, Singapore and Frankfurt.