Hunterbrook, a VC-backed hedge fund firm, has begun hiring financial journalists who will operate independently from, but provide support to, its research team in identifying possible investments, according to a report by the Financial Times.

The firm's Watchdog writing room will research and write stories and share them with the hedge fund managers, who may or may not act on them, prior to the 'news' being published publicly.

The firm, which has been founded by  US investor Nathaniel Brooks Horwitz and writer Sam Koppelan, both 27, has so far leveraged $10m in seed capital, which it intends to expand with further financing to reach a $100m target.

And the firm has already secured the services of one big-name writer, with Matt Murray, former editor of the Wall Street Journal, joining Hunterbrook as a consultant.

A legal department will vet all stories before they are passed from Watchdog to the firm investment division to ensure they can be acted on safely without falling foul of any legal restrictions or conflict of interest issues. Stories will only be published once any related investments have been made by Hunterbrook.

According to Horwitz Hunterbrook's fund will trade stocks, options, currencies, commodities and other assets, while initial investors include a former chief investment officer of JPMorgan and a former US attorney general.