The most powerful woman hedge fund manager in the world is crushing it

Denis Balibouse/Reuters

Leda Braga is the first woman ever to have made the cut to Institutional Investor's annual list of richest hedge fund managers.

As the head of Geneva-based Systematica Investments, Braga earned about $60 million last year and snagged the 44th spot on the ranking published today.  

That puts her on par with two New York-based managers, Scott Ferguson of Sachem Head Capital Management and Mark Kingdon of Kingdon Capital Management.

Systematica is a computer-driven firm spun out from BlueCrest Capital. Her BlueTrend Fund was up 6.4% this year through April 8, nearly doubling the 3.4% return that it had last year, according to Institutional Investor, which cited the HSBC hedge fund database.

Under Braga's helm, Systematica's assets have grown to $10.2 billion as of March 1. She manages more money than any other woman in the hedge fund industry. 

If this kind of perfomance goes on, Braga may soon land herself a spot on the top 25 list. 

The Brazilian-born portfolio manager, who holds a Ph.D. from Imperial College, worked on JPMorgan's derivatives research team before going in to the hedge fund industry.

Braga, sometimes known as the "queen of the quants," has said that systematic trading is the way to go amid higher regulatory pressures and investors' demand for lower fees. 

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