Smith Portfolio Management, founded in 1999, and Crescat Partners, established in 1985, have merged to create Crescat Capital, an alternative investment manager based in Denver, Colorado with USD70m in assets under management.

Kevin Smith, the founder of Smith Portfolio Management and co-founder of Crescat Partners, becomes chief investment officer of the combined entity, while the other principals are Daniel Hoskins and Claiborne Booker. All three are classmates from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business.

'This is a great opportunity for us to build for the future and devote more resources to producing superior investment results and enhanced client service,' Smith says. 'We look forward to growing in Denver.'

Crescat Capital manages three funds: Crescat Global Macro, a theme-driven global macro hedge fund, Crescat Long/Short, an all-cap, long/short equity hedge fund, and Crescat Large Cap, a long-only, large-cap equity separately managed account strategy.