Anthony Lawler Named Hedge Fund of Funds Portfolio Manager at GAM (Pensions&Investments)
Anthony Lawler was named a hedge fund-of-funds portfolio manager at GAM. Mr. Lawler will co-manage the $255 million GAM Institutional Diversity hedge fund-of-funds strategy with David Smith, chief investment officer of GAM’s Multi-Manager business unit, confirmed William T. Blase, a GAM spokesman, in an interview. Mr. Blase said the London-based position is new.
Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners Boosted in $AMRN (InsiderMonkey)
Philip Hempleman’s Ardsley Partners reported 5.30% passive stake in Amarin Corporation plc\uk (AMRN) on November 14th, according to a SEC 13G filing. Ardsley Partners now has approximately 7.20 million shares in $AMRN. Previously Ardsley Partners reported 4.95 million shares at the end of the third quarter. So this is a 45% expansion. It’s possible that Ardsley Partners made most of the purchase during October at near $9 per share. However, AMRN dropped in early November due to its patent application issues with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Now AMRN is trading at $7.44, losing 9% in 2011.
Wessex Asset Management is Closing Three Hedge Funds (Reuters)
Olympian Capital Switches to Multi-Strategy Approach (HFMWeek)
Olympian Capital Management, the Florida-based registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager, is in the process of converting its long/short equity fund into a multi-strategy offering. The move follows the arrival of Arun Kaul, from Hillsdale Investment Management, as the firm’s new chief investment officer. Kaul already has experience in multi-strategy and global macro investing. As part of the new direction the Olympian L/S Equity Fund is likely to be renamed, said Kaul. “We believe it is the best way to run money in this environment, in part because the correlations among asset classes are so high. There are also many macro themes driving the markets today so the global view is beneficial and the multi-strat allows us to be in multiple asset classes.”
North Tide Launches Healthcare Hedge Fund (HFMWeek)
North Tide Capital, the Boston-based investment manager, has launched a long/short equity hedge fund offering focused on the healthcare sector, HFMWeek has learned. According to an investor document, the firm, which formed earlier this year, debuted the North Tide Capital Master fund at the end of last quarter. Winston Black, partner at PBS Capital Management, a healthcare hedge fund based in Texas, sees opportunity in the healthcare sector in light of wider market uncertainty. “It is a good time to invest in healthcare because the underlying patient demographic trends are not correlated to the European credit crisis,” he said.
Anne Arundel County Closes Absolute Return Hedge Fund Portfolio (HFMWeek)
The $1.3bn Anne Arundel County Retirement and Pension System has closed its absolute return and hedge fund portfolio and redistributed the assets elsewhere, as it looks to achieve an 8% rate of return. “Of the 7% originally allocated, 5% will now go into the category called risk parity with alpha overlay,” Rhett Humphreys, partner at NEPC, confirmed to the board in September, adding that the remaining 2% would be split evenly between GTAA and the “large cap, portable alpha portfolio”. The board also voted to put $10m into the Attalus portfolio, a Philadelphia-based fund of hedge funds.
EJF Capital Launches Greater China Offering (HFMWeek)
EJF Capital, the Virginia-based hedge fund manager, has launched a new offering focused on Greater China, HFMWeek has learned, following the return of portfolio manager Victor Li. Li rejoined EJF to launch the new offering after spending two years as a portfolio manager for China Southern Fund Management, where he managed the Global Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund, the first QDII mutual fund in China. Between 2001 and 2007, he was the primary hedge fund portfolio manager for both the EJF Healthcare Fund and FBR Life Sciences Funds.
Threadneedle Asia Hedge Fund Sales Chief Sues Ex-Employer (FINAlternatives)
A Threadneedle Asset Management executive has had to resort to the courts over what is normally a formality: resignation. Jonathan Allen, who heads the firm’s hedge fund sales effort in Asia, resigned from Singapore-based Carnelian Capital two-and-a-half years ago. But Carnelian still lists him as a director of the company, which he joined in 2008.
