Former hedge group chief to launch rival fund

International Standard Asset Management, the hedge fund firm headed by former Man Group CEO Stanley Fink, is to launch a computer-driven "black box" fund to rival Man Group's poorly-performing flagship AHL fund.
By The Newsroom
Published 23rd Feb 2010, 11:21 BST
Updated 23rd Feb 2010, 11:21 BST

The firm is launching the ISAM Systematic fund in April with the help of industry veteran Larry Hite's Hite Capital Management, which has been running computer-driven funds for the past nine years.

Hite has a long track record in quantitative investment, having previously set up Mint Investment Management.

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As part of the deal, Hite, along with executives Alex Greyserman and Gilbert Lee, will become directors and shareholders of ISAM, it said in a statement yesterday.

The launch comes at a tough time for managed futures funds, which have been suffering from a lack of the kind of clear market trends they try to follow to make money.

According to Credit Suisse/Tremont, the average managed futures fund is down by 3.8 per cent in January, having dropped 6.6 per cent last year.

In particular, Man Group's AHL, which had $20.4bn (13.18bn) in assets as of last March, is down 16.6 per cent over the past year, having been hit by market reversals and a lack of clear trends in currency and bond markets.

Last month, Man Group, the world's biggest listed hedge fund firm, and Fink's former firm, said losses at AHL had wiped out $1.2bn from overall assets during the fourth quarter of last year.