Empureon’s Growing Volatility Franchise
Empureon, a Frankfurt‑based volatility‑risk‑premium manager, has raised €1.6 bn (≈$1.73 bn) in just 2½ years, marking one of the fastest UCITS fund builds in continental Europe. The firm’s flagship Empireon Volatility One uses a systematic, rules‑based approach that sells short‑dated S&P 500 puts while buying VIX calls, avoiding OTC derivatives. Despite a 14% drawdown in April 2025, the strategy recovered within five months and posted a 3.22% gain for 2025. The product suite now includes ESG‑screened and portable‑alpha versions aimed at DACH‑region investors.
Jupiter Merian GEAR’s 20 Years of Evolution
Jupiter Merian GEAR, a market‑neutral quantitative equity strategy, earned the 2025 UCITS Hedge Award and its leveraged counterpart GEARx captured the Best New Launch prize. The UCITS version maintains a 200% gross exposure and aims for cash + 5%, while GEARx doubles...
Capitalising on the Emerging Market Resurgence
BlueBay Emerging Market Unconstrained Bond Fund won the Hedge Journal’s 2026 UCITS Hedge Award for best risk‑adjusted returns in the emerging‑market credit space. The fund posted mid‑to‑high‑teens annual returns in 2023, 2024 and 2025—about three times its cash‑plus‑4‑6% target—while expanding...
Ironshield Capital Management’s David Nazar
Ironshield Capital Management, led by founder David Nazar, has operated its flagship sub‑investment‑grade credit strategy since 2007, delivering equity‑like returns with markedly lower volatility than the Stoxx 600. The strategy generated a 1.48× multiple over the past two years and targets...
FERI’s Ferrum Fund Future Stars
FERI’s Ferrum Fund Future Stars (FFFS) is a liquid, open‑ended vehicle that seeds emerging hedge‑fund managers with less than $100 million AUM through revenue‑share agreements, capturing a portion of management and performance fees. Since its 2020 launch, the fund has met...
Citco Monthly Hedge Fund Update
Citco’s January 2026 hedge‑fund update shows a continued winning streak, with the group’s funds delivering a 0.9% weighted‑average return, marking ten consecutive positive months. Global Macro strategies posted the strongest performance at 6.5%, while smaller funds (<$200 m) outperformed larger peers....
Profiting From Dispersion in Mid-Cap Tech Equities
HeadStart Fund of Funds
HeadStart Fund of Funds, managed by HeadStart Advisers, earned The Hedge Fund Journal Performance Award 2025 for highest absolute return over five years. Since 2020 the fund has delivered mid‑teens net returns, with three calendar years exceeding 20%, and has...
The Full Spectrum of European Alternative Fixed Income
Chenavari Investment Managers hit a $6 billion assets‑under‑management milestone in September 2025, eighteen years after its 2008 launch. The firm offers a full‑spectrum alternative fixed‑income platform, ranging from daily‑liquidity UCITS funds to semi‑liquid hybrid vehicles, listed credit trusts, CLO issuance and private‑credit...