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High-profile hedge fund managers line up launches for 2024

[March 18, 2024] By Carolina Mandl and Nell Mackenzie

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - A bumper crop of 40 high-profile hedge fund launches by former portfolio managers of multi-billion dollar firms is expected this year, said research firm PivotalPath and other prime broker and industry sources.

Traders from Citadel, Lone Pine Capital, Oaktree Capital Management and Paloma Partners are among those fundraising for their own ventures, people familiar with the matter said. Launches by executives who have recently exited major firms usually attract a lot of interest from investors who expect they will be able to replicate their old shops' performance.

"Many of these people have done extremely well and may be looking for something more independent," said Jon Caplis, chief executive of hedge fund research firm PivotalPath which tracks launches through prime brokers and investor sources.

PivotalPath is tracking 40 planned high-profile launches this year, compared to 26 expected this time last year. Prime brokers and investors told Reuters they were also expecting a lot of debuts by managers who have left big firms.

Tommaso Trento, former portfolio manager at global hedge fund giant Citadel, plans to launch Benchstone Capital Management, focusing on consumer and technology, media and telecom (TMT) stocks, said a person familiar with the matter. Trento plans to raise $750 million, the source said.

Arthur Wit, a former Lone Pine Capital partner, is fundraising for his Perryridge Capital, a long/short equities hedge fund focused on healthcare and industrials globally, a person familiar with the matter said. The launch is expected inthe second half of the year.

In a rare woman-led debut, Chiki Gupta Brahm, another former Citadel portfolio manager, is expected to launch Tessellis Capital Management at the end of the year, trading industrials, consumer and TMT stocks, one source said.

The sources declined to be identified because the fundraising discussions are private.

The most high-profile launches of multi-billion dollar hedge funds this year will come from former Millennium Management co-Chief Investment Officer Bobby Jain, and a spinoff of Capula Investment Management by its partner Nat Dean, one source said.

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A screen displays market news as traders work on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., September 13, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo/File Photo

Bloomberg previously reported their launch plans.

"The hedge funds are managed by people who came from really good firms," said Leor Shapiro, a managing director at Jefferies overseeing capital introductions. "We're seeing consistent demand."

A strong pedigree is growing more important as industry consolidation has made it tougher for new funds to compete with incumbents for investor cash, a BNP Paribas survey of investors on Feb. 29 showed. Appetite for early stage launches has dropped slightly to 61% from 64% last year, it found.

Hedge funds returned 7.7% on average in 2023, according to PivotalPath, in a volatile year marked by bank failures and high interest rates that depressed the bond market.

High rates have driven investor demand for credit funds, according to surveys by Barclays and BNP Paribas prime brokers. Credit funds will also be among the launches this year.

Thomas Einhorn and Roger Schmitz, former portfolio managers at roughly $4 billion Paloma Partners, are aiming to raise $500 million to invest in public credit, including some distressed opportunities, two sources said. Their launch of Parliament Holdings is expected in the second quarter.

Brad Boyd, formerly at Oaktree Capital Management, will launch a California-based multi-sector fixed income hedge fund called Confido Capital, one source said.

Representatives for Parliament, Tessellis, Perryridge Capital, Benchstone, Dean, Jain Global, Confido declined to comment.

Spokespeople for Citadel, Lone Pine Capital, Oaktree Capital Management, Paloma Partners, Millennium Management, and Capula declined or did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Carolina Mandl in New York, and Nell Mackenzie in London; Editing by Michelle Price and Richard Chang)

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