David Fear Sets up Own Hedge Fund with $1.5B in AUM

Thunderbird Partners, a hedge fund with $1.5 billion in assets under management, has been launched by David Fear, who long ran a London-based hedge fund for the billionaire Ziff brothers.

That makes Thunderbird one of the biggest hedge-fund launches so far this year.

The rush to get access to Mr. Fear’s stock hedge fund even as many new start-up funds struggle to raise money underscores investors’ hunger to park money with managers they believe can consistently generate profits. Even as the number of funds globally has grown by more than 60% in the last decade to an all-time high of 6,154 last year, according to research firm eVestment, many longtime investors in hedge funds — and some veteran traders themselves — say too few justify their fees.

Two institutional investors who got access to Thunderbird, according to people familiar with the matter, are University of Texas Investment Management Co., or Utimco, which invests billions for the benefit of the University of Texas and Texas A&M Systems, and Investure LLC, an outsourced investment office business that manages money for colleges and foundations, including Smith College and Middlebury College.

The Ziffs also invested with Mr. Fear, according to people familiar with the matter, with Dirk Ziff, the eldest brother and a close friend of Mr. Fear’s, acting as a reference.

People familiar with Mr. Fear, a publicity-averse Canadian who has called London home since 2001, say his long experience managing money and his senior position with the Ziffs helped him drum up investor interest. A prominent family in the hedge-fund industry, the Ziffs are known for backing some of Wall Street’s biggest names, including William Ackman, Edward Lampert and Daniel Och, before shifting tack to start managing their money internally in 1999.

Source: Wall Street Journal

Related to: Hedge Fund Update

Tags: Hedge Fund of Funds Business, Hedge Fund, Hedge Funds, Fund of Hedge Funds, Hedge Fund of Funds, Hedge Fund Industry, Hedge Fund Group, Hedge Fund Market, Hedge Fund Investments, Hedge Fund Advisory Firm, Hedge Fund Returns, Thunderbird Partners, David Fear, Ziff Brothers, eVestment, University of Texas Investment Management Co., Utimco, University of Texas and Texas A&M Systems, Investure LLC, Smith College, Middlebury College, Dirk Ziff, Canada, Wall Street, William Ackman, Edward Lampert, Daniel Och.

Link to This Resource: David Fear's Hedge Fund

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2015/03/david-fears-hedge-fund.html