HFA Asset Management's (HFAAM) senior manager of investments Darren Katz has left the hedge fund manager to pursue what he regards as a strong opportunity at a different firm.
Katz is now boutique alternative investments provider Infinti Capital's Australia head. The firm, with Swiss origins, has around $739.4 million in assets under management.
"The reason for the move is this is a good opportunity for me to advance my career and also to take the opportunity to help build a business in Australia, which is a great challenge," Katz told InvestorDaily.
Katz said his initial job is to talk to Australian investors and gauge what their requirements are and assess how Infiniti can provide them with alternative investments solutions.
"Infiniti is historically an FOHF (fund of hedge funds) business, which has focused on constructing bespoke portfolio solutions for our clients in the alternative segments of their portfolios," he said.
"In terms of the product offering we will be looking to work with Australian institutional investors to create bespoke solutions in the alternatives segment of their portfolios."
Investors have been disappointed with the recent freeze on redemptions in the hedge fund industry and how certain FOHF providers have failed to conduct rigorous due diligence on their underlying investments, Katz said.
"The premise that we come from is to engage with our clients and analyse what their requirements are and then work out a solution for them," he said.
"As an example, this could be a solution whereby the client actually owns the underlying fund investments or we run a tailored fund on their behalf. This helps mitigate the risk of being co-invested with other investors."
The solutions would not be on a managed account platform.
HFAAM managing director Robert White said the firm had appointed Peter Coates as Katz's replacement.
