HS Group To Form Strategic Partnership With Ex-BlackRock, Macquarie Team

HONG KONG, Dec. 22, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- HS Group Ltd. ("HSG") today announces its second investment, in a hedge fund to be founded by Christopher Lee, previously Head of BlackRock's Scientific Active Equity department in Hong Kong and serving on the Investment Board of BlackRock's award nominated Pan Asia Opportunities Fund, and Burke Lau, who formerly was Head of Asia & Japan Quant Research at Macquarie Securities, the top ranked quantitative research house in Asia for the past seven years according to Greenwich survey.

The duo will be joined by a team of research and programming professionals with several decades of combined systematic investment experience in Asia, and on the business side will be led by Michael Friedlander who was formerly Head of Asia Operations, Technology and Onboarding for Millennium Capital Management Asia. Mr. Friedlander previously also served as COO and CFO of APG Asia based in Hong Kong.

Zentific Investment Management ("Zentific") is expected to launch its Pan Asia Market Neutral fund in early 2015 with capital from institutional clients, founding partners and HS Sponsor Fund. Zentific is anticipated to be one of the more significant Asian fund launches of 2015.

HSG provides strategic capital and institutional guidance to Asia's new generation of independent hedge fund leaders, and earlier in the year entered into a strategic partnership with TPG Holdings, L.P. HS Sponsor Fund made its first investment in September 2014 into Pleiad Asia Fund, founded by former China and Japan specialists at Soros Fund Management. Pleiad Investment Advisors now manage in excess of $440 million and are expected to soft-close to new investors shortly.

Michael Garrow, Founder and CIO of HSG, said,

"The Zentific team has innovated fundamental trading signals and systematic portfolio management techniques in Asia which are among the world's most fertile markets from an alpha generation perspective. Their collaboration with local academia, buy-side and sell-side market participants and mastery of unstructured data sources, local market structure and technology ensure a durable edge to an evolutionary investment process."

Johannes Kaps, Founder and CEO of HSG, said,

"Zentific brings together professionals from two of the dominant market neutral franchises in Asia – BlackRock and Macquarie – and overlays institutional standards and risk controls developed over several years at one of world's largest pension funds – APG. We have known Chris and his team for many years, and expect their consistent alpha generation through cutting edge research in short, mid and long-term horizon strategies to provide a sought-after exposure for institutional allocators globally."

V-Nee Yeh, Chairman of HSG's Advisory Board and Board member of the Columbia University Endowment, concluded,

"Zentific signifies a calm and wise, yet rigorously scientific approach to harvesting alpha from a very broad array of Asian markets. These markets are burgeoning with new sources of information and liquidity, but are quite challenging to time correctly, and require local insights and tailored investing to navigate profitably. Zentific's team on the ground is capable of consistent returns through continuous research and innovation. With HSG as strategic partner, Zentific is well positioned to join Asia's next generation of hedge fund leaders."

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About HS Group

HS Group is an independent, institutional investment firm providing long-term capital and strategic guidance to emerging hedge funds in Asia. Based in Hong Kong, founders Michael Garrow and Johannes Kaps espouse governance principles of integrity, alignment, and fiduciary responsibility and believe investment excellence is sustained through both passionate commitment and rigorous process. The founders both spent formative years at Brown University and Morgan Stanley, followed by senior roles in Asia's hedge fund industry at Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, respectively.

For Additional Information

Siobhan Zheng
Brunswick Group Ltd.
+852-3512-5000
szheng@brunswickgroup.com
www.brunswickgroup.com

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SOURCE HS Group