Avendus Capital winds down hedge fund strategy; Andrew Holland to leave firm

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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. KKR-backed Avendus Capital is winding down its hedge funds which will see market veteran Andrew Holland leave the firm, two people with knowledge of the development told Mint, on condition of anonymity. The two funds Avendus Absolute Return and Avendus Enhanced Return funds have already started returning money to their investors and the process of winding down is expected to be completed by February, the first person cited above said.

The firm’s ambitions for its hedge fund strategy did not achieve scale as envisaged because of tax and regulatory reasons, the person added. Sebi’s introduction of New Asset Class scheme in October also made the strategy harder to sell, the people cited above said. However, Avendus will retain its long-only public equities portfolio management scheme (PMS) under Ganesh Jayraman.

It will also retain its credit fund and future leaders fund series. “While our strategies in structured credit, private equity and long-only public markets continue to garner significant investor interest, our hedge funds haven’t seen as much traction. After careful strategic review and with our investors’ best interests in mind, we have taken steps to realign our offerings in the asset management space, in keeping with evolving market dynamics.

We have decided to wind down our hedge funds business and concentrate our efforts on expanding the aforementioned strategies within Avendus Asset Management," an Avendus Capital spokesperson told Mint. “Mr. Andrew Holland, CEO, Avendus Capital Public Markets Alternate Strategies LLP, who played a pivotal role in shaping our hedge fund business, would be transitioning out of the firm.