BNY Mellon Alternative Investment Services has been appointed as global custodian by The Sturgeon Fund, the Central Asia focused hedge fund managed since 2006 by Clemente Cappello.

Taco Sieburgh Sjoerdsma, who joined Sturgeon Capital as chief financial officer in June this year, says: “Through a thorough selection process, we chose to work with BNY Mellon as it is very well capitalised and has extensive emerging markets coverage. BNY Mellon’s experience, reputation and credit rating as a custodian were also key. Appointing BNY Mellon is part of an upgrade of our corporate infrastructure, which also includes opening an office in London, FSA authorisation and re-domiciling the fund’s investment manager from Cayman to Malta.”

David Aldrich, managing director and head of alternative investment services EMEA at BNY Mellon, says: “BNY Mellon is committed to helping our hedge fund clients reduce their counterparty risk while allowing them to continue to use their preferred broker. Our appointment allows Sturgeon to consolidate its unencumbered cash and securities portfolio with one custodian, bringing operational efficiencies.”

BNY Mellon Alternative Investment Services is a private equity and hedge fund administrator with a global presence, including locations in Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Hong Kong, Ireland, Luxembourg, Japan, Singapore and the UK, as well as US offices in California, Florida, New Jersey and New York. 

In addition to alternative fund administration the company offers a wide range of cash management, foreign exchange, collateral management, trust, operational outsourcing and custody services to the hedge fund industry.