Hedge Fund Triada Is Rare Outlier, Gaining as Peers Stumble

Hedge funds in Asia are off to their worst start on record amid a tumultuous year for equity markets, but there are some outliers.

Triada Capital, a Hong Kong-based firm whose founders include an all-female credit investment team from CQS Management, posted gains of 4.5 percent in its credit long-short hedge fund so far this year, according to a letter to investors. The fund, Triada Asia Credit Opportunities, which began trading in June and employs an event-driven strategy, gained 2.2 percent in February and 2.3 percent in January, according to the letter.

Chief Investment Officer Monica Hsiao and head of research Anna Tham, who previously worked at $14 billion London-based hedge fund CQS, co-founded Triada Capital in May. The third co-founder is Chief Executive Officer and Chief Operating Officer Jean-Marie Barreau, who ran hedge fund managed-account platforms at Deutsche Bank AG and Societe Generale SA.

Triada’s focus on credit has helped it outperform peers, as hedge funds that invest in the region are off to their worst annual start on record this year. Even funds that successfully weathered past downturns have been stymied as the region’s stock markets have plunged amid a dimming outlook for growth. Asia hedge funds, excluding those in Japan, have lost 5.6 percent this year, according to Singapore-based data provider Eurekahedge Pte.

Triada Asia Credit Opportunities invests in credit-linked instruments, including Swaps , in primary and secondary markets. The bonds’ credit rankings vary from high-Yield and distressed to investment grade, and includes those in Japan, Australia and the Middle East.

Asian credit markets, unlike the ones in the U.S. and Europe, are still developing, with public debt markets only starting to take shape in early 2009, Hsiao said in an interview. As a result, there are very few credit-focused hedge funds in Asia, she said. Triada may launch a second credit strategy as fixed income markets in Asia continue to develop, the firm said.

"It’s a newer asset class out here, so we spotted a window of opportunity," Hsiao said in an interview in Hong Kong on the timing of the launch. "It’s very difficult to find peers with the same type of strategy."

Last year, investments in Chinese property companies contributed to performance, Hsiao said. This year, the firm is eying opportunities in Australia, Indonesia and India, she said, declining to comment on specific positions.

(For more information on Bloomberg's Hedge Funds Asia newsletter {BRIE HFA}.)

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Suzy Waite in Hong Kong at swaite8@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nathaniel E. Baker at nbaker14@bloomberg.net, Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam at sbhaktavatsa@bloomberg.net.

By: Suzy Waite

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