London-based RAB Capital, one of the city’s most respected hedge funds, has shut down its Asia-focused fund – the RAB-Pi Asia Fund Ltd
London-based RAB Capital, one of the city’s most respected hedge funds, has shut down its Asia-focused fund – the RAB-Pi Asia Fund Ltd – reports Bloomberg this week. The firm, which specializes in natural resources, equity l/s and market neutral investment strategies, manages 10 hedge funds in total, with co-founder Philip Richards (pictured) at the helm of its flagship USD500 million special situations fund. It is thought that RAB decided to shutter the fund because revenue streams were no longer able to offset costs following asset outflows post-financial crisis. Asian hedge funds, in particular, have found it hard raising capital this year, surprising many industry commentators who anticipated greater asset inflows as investor confidence steadily returned to the region. The result has meant an adversely tough environment in which to operate and secure new assets, with several Asian funds having closed recently, including: Amoeba Capital (Oct); Cypress Lane Capital (Nov) and DragonBack Capital (Aug). When RAB opened its Hong Kong office in 2007, it went on record saying that it planned to double its Asian assets to USD2billion within a year. This closure means it currently has no Asia-focused funds in operation. Five members of Pi’s investment team, including co-founders Alain Barbezat, Caeser Luk and Nissim Tse allegedly left two weeks ago. RAB Capital declined to comment when contacted by Hedgeweek.
