Weston Capital Management, an independent alternative investment group, has formed a joint venture with Zurich-based Harcourt Investment Consulting, a global provider of alternative investment solutions for institutional investors.

The alliance will seed and develop new hedge fund businesses via Weston Capital’s incubation platform.

The alliance will combine Weston’s experience in early stage hedge fund investing and marketing with Harcourt’s investment expertise in global manager selection, due diligence and risk management.

"Through our collaboration with Harcourt, we will further expand our seeding platform with a valuable institutional long-term partner that brings enormous alternative investment expertise to the table. The partnership brings the strengths of each organization together to form a robust and far reaching strategic incubation business,” says Albert Hallac, chairman and founder of Weston Capital Management.

Since January 2004, Weston Capital’s hedge fund seeding platform (via the Weston-Atlas Partners Fund and the Weston Capital Partners Fund II) has provided sponsor capital for 13 emerging hedge fund managers. Weston intends to close Partners III, its third incubation fund, at USD250m, with Harcourt providing investment infrastructure and risk management.

Stephan Fritz, chief executive of Harcourt, says: “Seeding and incubation is a highly specialized field in the area of hedge fund investing. We are pleased to combine our institutional investment process with a leading firm in the seeding space, and we look forward to a successful strategic collaboration.”