Avendus Capital’s 2nd hedge fund crosses Rs1,000 crore in AUM

Mumbai: Avendus Enhanced Return Fund (AERF), the second hedge fund launched by Avendus Capital, has crossed Rs1,000 crore in assets under management (AUM) in the four months since its launch, the financial services group said in a statement on Tuesday.

The hedge fund is managed by Avendus Capital Public Market Alternate Strategies, part of Avendus’ asset management business.

AERF is a close ended category III alternative investment fund.

“The fund will invest approximately 70% of the proceeds in the long only portfolio, and 30% in long/short portfolio,” the statement said.

AERF will be managed by a team led by Andrew Holland and Vaibhav Sanghavi, who are already leading the Avendus Absolute Return fund which touched AUM of Rs3,300 crore in October 2017, the statement said.

“Investors have been looking for a strategy/investment solution through which they can participate in the medium-term growth story of India and the markets. At the same time they want to keep risk low in case of any near-term downside. We believe the AERF fully captures investors’ appetite to commit funds to the equity markets but in a risk-adjusted manner,” said Holland, chief executive officer at Avendus Capital Public Market Alternate Strategies.

Backed by private equity firm, KKR and Co. Lp, Mumbai-based Avendus Capital has been expanding its wealth management and investment banking business and building new business verticals.

Earlier in April, Mint reported that structured finance provider Avendus Finance, the non-banking financial company (NBFC) business of Avendus Capital, plans to start financing small and medium enterprises (SMEs).