There’s a real buzz in the air right now. Why?
There’s a real buzz in the air right now. Why? Because Morgan Sze (pictured), current global head of the Principal Strategies prop trading desk at Goldman Sachs, has begun raising capital for one of the industry’s most highly anticipated fund launches. Marketing sources for the Hong Kong-based fund – which will be called Azentus Capital – indicate that it will launch with between USD1billion and USD1.5billion, reported the Financial Times this week. This would make it by far the biggest hedge fund to come out of Asia Pacific. No wonder industry professionals are getting excited. Sze has yet to leave Goldman’s, but word on the street is that Azentus will begin trading towards the end of Q1, 2011. According to the FT, the fund will use a number of strategies including equity l/s, risk arbitrage and special situations. Anything over the USD1billion mark would certainly eclipse this year’s largest offering, Geneva-based Edoma Capital, launched by former head of Principal Strategies at Goldman’s, Pierre-Henri Flamand, with approximately USD1billion in assets. It’s been a good year for ex-Goldman Sachs traders: in April, Davide Erro, a former Asia head of its global arbitrage desk, launched his Turiya Fund in Hong Kong, which has since gone on to double its assets to approximately USD320million. As the Volcker Rule takes effect, stellar traders leaving industry-leading prop desks such as Principal Strategies seem to be finding a good deal of success raising funds, in what has been a very difficult climate this year. More and more prop traders are expected to spin off and go solo as we head into 2011, which could help deepen the coffers in Asia’s hedge fund industry if other big ticket launches, like Sze’s Azentus Capital, roll out. That Sze has decided to base the fund in Hong Kong, as opposed to New York or London, is a real fillip both to the city and the region.
