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
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.