Absolute return manager K2 Asset Management has hired former Invesco Perpetual Funds Management product director Nick Hamilton.
Hamilton will work on the institutional business development team and help spearhead K2's push into the institutional market.
Chief investment officer and K2 co-founder Mark Newman said the growing superannuation pool, combined with a perception that volatility might increase, was fuelling institutional demand for alternative strategies.
"While absolute return delivers strong returns in all market conditions, including bull markets, it comes into its own during times of greater volatility as manager skill comes to the fore," Newman said.
He said Hamilton's experience in the United Kingdom market would be a benefit to K2 and its investors.
"Long/short strategies have taken off in the UK in response to a challenging equities market. We think that [Hamilton's] involvement with the UK's biggest active team at Invesco Perpetual will be of tremendous value," he said.
K2's long/short funds aim to provide investors with yearly returns of 15 per cent net of fees over a three to five-year period.
