Dai Jixin, who used to work for Soros Fund Management, recently opened his Hong Kong-based Trigram Global Macro Fund to international institutions. It is the first time that he has done so, according to sources who requested to remain anonymous, writes Bei Hu for Bloomberg.
Turmoil in China presents opportunities
Trigram started trading in July 2013, and managed assets worth $284 million in March 2015.
Macro hedge-fund managers profit by forecasting trends in equity, credit, currency and commodities. A number of Asia-based managers see an opportunity to profit from recent Chinese initiatives designed to encourage international use of its currency and bring foreign investment to its financial markets.
Government intervention after volatility in the Chinese stock market raised concerns that Beijing was not ready to embrace financial reforms. However the Chinese government responded by lifting barriers to foreign central banks, sovereign wealth funds and global financial organizations who wish to trade in the country’s interbank bond market.
Former Soros manager hoping to grow assets
In Q1 Trigram returned 9.2%, according to the sources. Last year the fund returned 22%, up from 3% in 2013.
Dai worked at Soros Fund Management from 2001-2012, leaving late that year after the company returned client capital and regained its status as a family office. According to Dai’s official biography, he moved from New York to Hong Kong in 2010, where he worked as a fund manager and responsible officer for Soros Hong Kong unit.
Macro funds make up 7.2% of Asian industry assets, compared to 64% for stock-focused funds. On a global scale, 19% of industry assets are managed by macro managers, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc.
Asia has witnessed the rise of several large macro managers over the last few years. Graticule Asset Management managed $4 billion of assets in March, led by Adam Levinson, while Dymon Asia Capital (Singapore) managed $3.5 billion under the stewardship of Danny Yong and David Chan.
Sources claim that Dai is seeking as much as $750 million, the first time that a funding target has been made public.
