Singapore hedge fund Dymon Asia Capital has hired 24 portfolio managers over the past year including ex-Goldman Sachs Group Inc. managing director Jaewon Yu as it prepares to raise $1 billion in fresh funds.
The firm, which currently manages $4 billion in assets, is opening an office in Mumbai, adding to existing facilities in Singapore, Hong Kong and Tokyo, according to Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner Kenneth Kan. Dymon plans to raise the money by sometime in 2024 and will ramp up efforts starting in September with trips to the US, the UK and Japan.
The new hires helped to boost Dymon’s ranks of portfolio managers to around 45. Goldman veteran Yu will start in October as a managing director and portfolio manager in Hong Kong after resigning from the US bank in June. Dymon’s flagship multi-strategy fund is up 3.3% this year, more than the 2.9% return of the Eurekahedge Asian Hedge Fund Index.
Dymon’s push comes as global investors seek out multi-strategy hedge funds to put money to work in Asia, as geopolitical tensions make markets such as China more volatile. India and Japan have been two of the biggest contributors to the firm’s returns this year, alongside Greater China.
While Dymon was previously best known for its macro fund, Kan said the firm has spent the past few years rebalancing its suite of portfolio managers to become a more diversified multi-strategy fund focused on Asia. With the new hires coming on board, it’s seeking to boost that fund by 50% from the current $2 billion.
The company now has four portfolio managers covering the Japanese market from Tokyo, up from two previously, and is opening the office in Mumbai to run equity long and short strategies in the market.
“Our exposure to China hasn’t changed — it’s still an important market for us but we decided to increase our exposure to Japan and India,” Kan said.
