After Alibaba luck, manager plans new Asia hedge fund

hong kong — Hari Ravisankar, who helped Janchor Partners make an eight-fold return on an investment in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, is starting his own Asia-focused stock hedge fund, said people with knowledge of the matter.

His Ishana Capital, based in Hong Kong, will start trading with external money on September 1, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information hasn’t been publicly disclosed. Initial capital for the fund has been pledged by institutions including HS Group, a Hong Kong-based strategic investor in hedge funds, the people said.

Ishana is tapping into demand for managers that can make concentrated, long-term investments in future industry giants after years of stock rallies have stretched valuations. Investors pulled $77 billion from the $3.1 trillion global hedge fund industry in five consecutive quarters of net redemptions ending March, according to Hedge Fund Research data, revolting against managers that crowded into the

$77B pulled from global hedge fund industry in five quarters by investors

same stocks and charged hefty fees for mediocre returns.

Ishana is a rare regional startup this year as new hedge fund starts have sunk to a record low. Thirtytwo new Asian hedge funds started in 2017, on track for the slowest year since Singapore-based Eurekahedge began to track such data in 2000.

Another high-profile startup this year was Seiga Asset Management, opened by former TPGAxon Capital Management regional head Keita Arisawa. The Hong Kong-based hedge fund opened to outside investors in May and drew $100 million capital from Blackstone Group in exchange for revenue sharing, said people with knowledge of the matter. — Bloomberg