Jupiter Asset Management has launched GEARx, a higher-leverage version of its flagship Merian Global Equity Absolute Return (GEAR) strategy, targeting sophisticated professional investors via its new Cayman Islands-domiciled hedge fund platform.

GEARx builds on the firm’s well-established Irish-domiciled GEAR fund, which has been operating since 2009 and currently manages $3.8bn in assets. The new Cayman vehicle offers greater exposure and return potential by doubling both the typical gross leverage (up to 4x) and the targeted annualised volatility (12%) compared to the original GEAR strategy.

Both funds are run by Amadeo Alentorn and Jupiter’s Systematic Equities team, which oversees $14.5bn in AUM. The strategies follow a market-neutral, systematic approach, underpinned by a proprietary model that processes around 40 million daily data points across a universe of 7,000 global equities.

In the five years to the end of March 2025, GEAR delivered an annualised net return of 10.7% (8% over cash) with volatility at 4.8%, and recorded 17 consecutive quarters of positive performance.

“We are delighted to launch GEARx, the latest bold step forward in our commitment to delivering innovative, high conviction strategies for sophisticated investors,” said Matthew Beesley, CEO of Jupiter. “Everything we do is designed with institutional quality in mind.”

The launch aligns with Beesley’s broader reshaping of the firm to diversify its client base and investment capabilities. This year alone, Jupiter has debuted its first active ETF, acquired Origin Asset Management, established a new European Equities team under Niall Gallagher, and secured a Capital Markets Services License in Singapore.

GEARx is aimed at institutional hedge fund allocators seeking a cash +10% return target with minimal correlation to broader equity markets—a feature that has made the GEAR strategy an attractive portfolio diversifier during volatile market environments.

“Systematic investing has an edge because it’s dispassionate and exploits behavioural biases,” said Alentorn. “GEARx follows the same data-driven process we apply across our range, designed to capture inefficiencies in inefficient markets.