Key Takeaways
- • The Hedge Fund Journal's biennial Tomorrow's Titans surveys (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) identified 180 emerging hedge fund managers assessed as rising stars with strong potential to generate high returns and scale assets into the billions within years, with many achieving these goals despite industry barriers to entry.
- • Asset accumulation among identified managers has been driven significantly by liquid alternatives vehicles, particularly UCITS funds and '40 Act vehicles; managers including Gregoire Dooms (Systematica), Boaz Weinstein (Saba Capital), Ashwin Vasan (Trend Capital), and Neil Toft (Mygale) have successfully deployed these distribution channels.
- • Over 90% of identified Titans have not yet launched UCITS or other liquid alternatives vehicles, indicating substantial untapped capacity for future asset growth and distribution expansion among the surveyed cohort.
- • Entry barriers in hedge fund management remain surmountable, with demonstrated capacity for managers to launch with tens of millions in assets and scale to billions within several years despite industry-wide complaints about rising obstacles.
- • Multiple Tomorrow's Titans managers have achieved recognition through UCITS Hedge awards from The Hedge Fund Journal, including Trend Capital, Mygale, Portland Hill, and Pictet-affiliated strategies, validating performance quality across the identified cohort.
Summary
The Hedge Fund Journal's multi-year Tomorrow's Titans survey series, conducted biennially from 2010 through 2016 in association with EY, collectively identified 180 hedge fund managers designated as emerging leaders with strong potential to deliver superior returns and substantial asset growth. The retrospective analysis demonstrates that many within this cohort successfully achieved their growth objectives, validating the selection methodology despite widespread industry commentary regarding rising barriers to entry and fund launches.
The research reveals that entry barriers, while elevated, remain permeable for qualified managers. The identified Titans have demonstrated capacity to launch operations with initial assets in the tens of millions and scale to billions within a compressed timeframe of several years. Growth trajectories have varied significantly across the cohort, driven by differentiated strategic approaches and distribution mechanisms.
Liquid alternatives vehicles have emerged as a primary asset accumulation mechanism for identified managers. UCITS funds and U.S. '40 Act vehicles have facilitated substantial capital deployment and platform accessibility. Specific examples include Gregoire Dooms' equity market neutral strategy housed within Systematica's UCITS offering, Karya Macro's UCITS on the Rothschild R-platform, Atreaus Macro's vehicle via the Tages International Funds platform, and Chenavari's UCITS on the Lyxor platform. Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital has expanded reach through an Exchange Traded Fund structure. Notably, select managers including Algebris have complemented hedge fund strategies with long-only vehicles to broaden institutional accessibility.
Performance recognition has accrued to multiple identified managers through The Hedge Fund Journal's UCITS Hedge awards program. Recipients include Ashwin Vasan (Trend Capital, on the UBP platform), Neil Toft (Mygale, on the ML platform), Ben Wallace (Henderson), Thierry Lucas (Portland Hill), Elif Aktug (Pictet), and Tony Chedraoui (Tyrus Capital). However, the majority of surveyed Titans—exceeding 90%—have not yet deployed liquid alternatives or UCITS infrastructure, suggesting considerable headroom for future asset growth and distribution channel expansion across the identified cohort.
The research reveals that entry barriers, while elevated, remain permeable for qualified managers. The identified Titans have demonstrated capacity to launch operations with initial assets in the tens of millions and scale to billions within a compressed timeframe of several years. Growth trajectories have varied significantly across the cohort, driven by differentiated strategic approaches and distribution mechanisms.
Liquid alternatives vehicles have emerged as a primary asset accumulation mechanism for identified managers. UCITS funds and U.S. '40 Act vehicles have facilitated substantial capital deployment and platform accessibility. Specific examples include Gregoire Dooms' equity market neutral strategy housed within Systematica's UCITS offering, Karya Macro's UCITS on the Rothschild R-platform, Atreaus Macro's vehicle via the Tages International Funds platform, and Chenavari's UCITS on the Lyxor platform. Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital has expanded reach through an Exchange Traded Fund structure. Notably, select managers including Algebris have complemented hedge fund strategies with long-only vehicles to broaden institutional accessibility.
Performance recognition has accrued to multiple identified managers through The Hedge Fund Journal's UCITS Hedge awards program. Recipients include Ashwin Vasan (Trend Capital, on the UBP platform), Neil Toft (Mygale, on the ML platform), Ben Wallace (Henderson), Thierry Lucas (Portland Hill), Elif Aktug (Pictet), and Tony Chedraoui (Tyrus Capital). However, the majority of surveyed Titans—exceeding 90%—have not yet deployed liquid alternatives or UCITS infrastructure, suggesting considerable headroom for future asset growth and distribution channel expansion across the identified cohort.
Go deeper than the headline
Research every firm in this story, track the ones that matter and get the daily briefing — free for 7 days.