(Bloomberg) -- Brevan Howard Asset Management has cut about 7% of its trading workforce after two of its main hedge funds underperformed relative to peers last year.

The cuts affected roughly a dozen traders from Brevan Howard’s offices globally spanning New York, London and Abu Dhabi, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. The firm is now left with almost 150 traders after the reduction, one of the people said.

The macro trading firm eliminated the current batch of traders as part of its twice-a-year review after making similar cuts last year.

Brevan Howard joins rivals such as Bridgewater Associates and Two Sigma Investments in trimming its headcount and reassessing staffing needs after a period of rapid growth. The firm, led by Chief Executive Officer Aron Landy, has expanded to manage $35 billion in assets, compared with the $6 billion in 2019. Employee strength has increased to more than 1,000 from 150 during the period.

The biggest firms where dozens of traders invest across asset classes have benefited from client demand for stable and diversified returns. Known for a high churn of traders, such companies compete fiercely for top talent, paying top dollar to poach from each other while letting go of underperformers.

A representative for Jersey, Channel Islands-based Brevan Howard declined to comment.

Brevan Howard’s flagship $12.2 billion Master fund gained 5.3% last year, while its $11.9 billion multistrategy Alpha Strategies hedge fund returned 2.6%, according to investor letters seen by Bloomberg News. The smaller BH Digital fund rose 51.3%. Hedge funds tracked by Bloomberg made 11% on average last year, while macro money pools gained 7%.

Brevan Howard cut around 10% of its workforce — or about 100 employees — in the first half of last year to reduce costs and streamline its rapidly growing operation. The reductions were in addition to about two dozen traders the firm cut in March. It also shuttered funds run by star managers Alfredo Saitta and Louis Basger last year, with Saitta leaving the company.

(Updates with information on Brevan Howard shutting funds last year in final paragraph.)

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