broader coverage of emerging managers, where optimal capacity can vary by strategy; so for example Nordic equities specialist Protean has set a capacity limit of USD 200 million for its long/short strategy, while Daniel McNamara’s Polpo Capital will cap its CMBS long/short strategy at USD 150 million. Assets are not always listed in profiles. Some managers could be open to seed or acceleration capital deals while others do not need them.


Seeders are not always publicly disclosed, but we can highlight a few. Some funds are effectively lift outs or spin outs from former firms; Mane Global continues to run money for Moore Capital, while Jack Land’s Axebrook has spun out of York Capital. Scandinavia’s largest hedge fund manager, Brummer & Partners of Sweden, regularly seeds new funds such as Pantechnicon. In Canada, seeders include Canadian pension funds and Quebec Emerging Managers’ Program. The Norwegian oil fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, is allocating to specialist “boutique” hedge fund managers globally, such as UK equity long/short manager, Kernow Asset Management. There are also seasoned seeders such as Stable Asset Management.


Previous firms Most managers have previously worked for other hedge funds including giants such as Brevan Howard, BlueCrest, Bridgewater, Citadel (and affiliates), Millennium, Moore Capital, TCI and York Capital. The remaining managers hail from smaller and medium sized firms such as emerging markets specialist Prince Street and Asia-Pacific specialist Indus Capital.


Some managers came from a proprietary trading background, at banks such as China’s Bank of Communications, Deutsche Bank, Natixis, Societe Generale, Credit Suisse, and Goldman Sachs. Meanwhile the option traders at Patronus Capital Management were previously market makers for Optiver. One co-founder – of Castle Ridge – formerly worked for a giant Canadian pension fund. Two managers, Derek Brown of Dardanelles Capital, and Misha Sanwal of Millingtonia, previously worked in private equity, in addition to


hedge funds. Daniya Lukmanova of Infinite Edge is distinguished by her prior role in academic biomedical research.


Platforms and service providers Most managers have founded their own firms, but we also feature developing strategies sitting on established platforms, these include strategies managed by Osmosis Investment Management, Crossborder Capital and First Private Investment Management in Europe, as well as Dalton (and affiliate Rising Sun) and Wolver Hill Asset Management in Asia. There are also newer platforms catering for emerging managers, these include Eschler Capital Management in the UK and Eva Maria Kullmann’s Ancova Capital Management in Cayman.


Some managers are working with bulge bracket prime brokers and service providers. Others, often the smaller and newer ones, are working with firms such as Interactive Brokers, Apex Fund Services or NAV Consulting.


Vehicles Most managers are running Cayman, Luxembourg or Ireland funds, but there are some exceptions. A distinctive trend following CTA, Bowmoor Capital, is setting up a Guernsey structure; Bob Elliott’s Unlimited runs a US-listed ETF; and Nippon Asset Value Fund is an LSE- listed closed end fund investment trust. UCITS funds are run by firms including Seahawk, First Private Investment Management, and Osmosis Investment Management. Some managers currently only run managed accounts and/or sit on managed account platforms such as Galaxy Plus.


The number of launches and asset raising achieved in any one year will fluctuate, and the climate might have become more challenging for some start-ups. That said we continue to see a steady stream of distinctive and often innovative strategies, which are often generating exceptional returns. We are also monitoring pre-launch managers for future reports and encourage readers to reach out alerting us to new launches.


37


“Most managers have founded their own


firms, but we also feature developing


strategies sitting on established platforms.”


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