Hong Kong-based hedge fund Ovata Capital Management is set to cease operations as founder James Chen and most of the firm’s staff move to ExodusPoint Capital Management, reported Bloomberg.
The move marks a broader push by the $14.5bn US multistrategy firm into Asian equities trading.
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The person said Chen is due to join ExodusPoint in the third quarter as head of equities for the region.
Most of Ovata’s roughly 40 employees are expected to join him, the person said.
Chen and a representative for ExodusPoint declined to comment.
ExodusPoint was established in 2017 by former millennium executives Michael Gelband and Hyung Lee. The firm recently secured $2bn in fresh capital in a fundraising round that included Abu Dhabi Investment Council, an independent unit of sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Co.
Its hedge fund posted a four per cent return in the first five months of this year, following an 18 per cent gain last year.
The firm has about 100 portfolio manager teams across eight offices worldwide, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo in Asia. Its Asia macro trading unit is led by Steve Xu.
The arrival of the Ovata team is expected to increase the size of ExodusPoint’s regional equities operation.
Ovata differs from many Asian hedge funds that focus mainly on stock selection. Its strategies span equity long-short, event driven, relative value, systematic and arbitrage trading, the person said. The fund was up 10% through May this year, according to the person.
Chen has more than 25 years of trading experience across banks and hedge funds. He was previously a managing director at Barclays, where he oversaw Asia-Pacific programme trading and Asia cash equities risk trading, according to his LinkedIn profile and company announcements from that period.
In 2014, BlueCrest Capital Management selected him to lead its expansion in Asian equities trading. He started Ovata in 2017 with backing from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
Earlier in his career, which began in 1996, Chen also held roles at Credit Suisse, Bear Stearns and JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to his LinkedIn profile. At Ovata, he oversees relative value investing alongside his chief investment officer responsibilities.
