One of the last places in England you might expect to find a hedge fund manager is Hammersmith Grove, a tree-lined residential street in a not-so-trendy part of west London.

David W. Harding, the founder of Winton Capital, sits in a modest office far from the stately cream-coloured town houses that dot London’s venerable Mayfair section. Just as Greenwich, Connecticut is known as the hub of US hedge funds, Mayfair is home to investment pools catering to ultrarich investors and institutions.