Myriad Asset Management To Close HK Office
HONG KONG – Myriad Asset Management, a hedge fund managed by Carl Huttenlocher, intends to close its office in the Chinese territory, where the company was founded and based for much of its 11-year existence, reported Bloomberg on Wednesday afternoon (18 May, SGT).
A source who requested anonymity revealed that Myriad decided on the closure after Hong Kong’s draconian COVID-19 measures made it hard for Huttenlocher and his portfolio managers to travel. The fund’s Asian investment also underperformed other strategies in 2022.
Myriad Asset Management plans to relocate its headquarters to West Palm Beach, Florida, revealed the source.
Hong Kong is witnessing an exodus of multinational companies, foreigners, and locals amidst its stringent COVID rules and Beijing’s controversial national security law. Based on government data, the number of people who left surpassed those who have arrived by nearly 172,000 since the beginning of 2021, and roughly 78 percent of the net departures are occurring this year.
Among European firms operating in Hong Kong, almost 50 percent intend to fully or partially relocate operations and employees out of the Chinese territory, according to a survey published in March 2022. Financial firms have also moved some staff. Historically, Hong Kong-based hedge funds have set up leaner operations in the city, and a rising number have recently established satellite offices elsewhere.
The source shared that Myriad Asset’s relocation comes after it suffered a double-digit month-on-month loss during the market rout in March 2020. Its global multi-strategy hedge fund returned a minimum of 12 percent in 2021 and recorded a single-digit gain so far this year.
Furthermore, the source added that the hedge fund will close its Asia fundamental equity and credit strategies, which lost money in 2022. Myriad Asset’s two Hong Kong-based portfolio managers – John Hedigan and James Bean – will transfer to the United States to expand global equity capital markets investments. Jeremy Edelberg, who handles its global convertible bond team, will also relocate there.
Huttenlocher’s own relocation to the US last year after 16 years in Asia is viewed as the end of an era. He was the former Asia head at Highbridge Capital Management, the hedge fund subsidiary of JP Morgan that was an early mover in the region. He initially relocated to Denver, Colorado, to make it easier to oversee investments across different time zones.
