Verition Fund Mngmt To Open Singapore Office

SINGAPORE – Verition Fund Management, a global multi-manager hedge fund with about US$4.5 billion assets in management (AUM) is in the process of setting up an office in the city-state, reported Bloomberg on Thursday afternoon (30 September, SGT)

As a matter of fact, the Greenwich, Connecticut-based company is currently registering with the local government in Singapore. It is also considering to establish a footprint in Hong Kong, according to a source, who requested to remain anonymous as the information is private.

This makes Verition Fund Management as the latest multinational multi-manager hedge fund to venture into Asia, in a bid to take advantage of the region’s growing talent pool and fast-expanding capital markets.

In line with its upcoming office in Singapore, it has hired Bart Lijnse, who previously worked for market maker Virtu Financial, as its first portfolio manager in the city-state, where the hedge fund may eventually hire around 10 employees.

During the first 8 months of this year, almost US$24 billion in fresh capital have been injected into multi-strategy funds, making them the largest asset winners amidst a volatile year for hedge funds, based on statistics from eVestment.

With its huge war chest, platforms like ExodusPoint Capital Management which allocate capital across multiple investment companies for diversified and smoother returns have been expanding in Asia.

Since being founded in 2008, Verition Fund Management, has recorded an annualized return of 14 percent with no annual losses so far. In comparison, the Eurekahedge hedge fund index has seen 3 years in red since 2008 with annualized returns of half that rate. So far, this year, Verition’s fund returned over 6 percent.

Verition Fund Management entry into Asia comes as the region faces heightened geopolitical tensions, growing regulatory scrutiny in China, and an expected interest hike across the world.