It’s the sort of pitch you wouldn’t necessarily expect from Regal, which has made its name as Australia’s most successful hedge fund in the past 20 years by making conviction bets that have come up with double-digit returns.
Its flagship long/short fund, Regal Atlantic Absolute Return Fund run by founder Phil King, is up 27.3 per cent since inception in March 2004. That means $100,000 invested at the beginning would be worth $8.1 million today, according to Regal’s documents.
It comes as Regal appears to be branching out from its roots, and preparing for life as an ASX-listed company. The group has a deal to acquire global equities house VGI Partners, in what’s effectively a backdoor listing for Regal Funds. The transaction is expected to be consummated at an extraordinary general meeting this week.
Regal already has long/short, small companies and global equities strategies, and recently entered agribusiness via Kilter Rural Funds.
Ex-Goldman Sachs dealmaker and new Regal credit fund operative Poke was a 15 year veteran at the Wall Street giant, most recently co-heading special situations for Australia and New Zealand. He invested on behalf of the investment bank’s balance sheet and partner capital, including its hugely profitable stake in AirTrunk.
He joins amid a bit of a Regal hiring spree. Street Talk recently revealed Regal had snared John Manchee from Morgan Stanley to run its Australian trading team, while ex-Credit Suisse prime broking operations leader James Persson has also joined as chief risk officer.
Regal also hired former MIRA distribution executive Ingrid Neill to join its Singapore office and international distribution.
