Julian Robertson's Tiger Management LLC is backing startup
hedge-fund Kang Global Investors LP with as much as $50 million for
its launch at the start of July, according to people familiar with
the arrangement.
Long considered one of the savvier long-term investors in the
industry, the 81-year-old Mr. Robertson shut down his own hedge
fund in 2000 and shifted to doling out his money to other managers.
These selected funds now manage some $27 billion altogether.
The billionaire's reputation is such that budding hedge-fund
managers are frequently willing to take tougher terms in exchange
for his money, and endorsement.
In this latest deal, the new hedge fund's founder, Richard Kang,
agreed to pay about 20% of his fees earned, forever, to Mr.
Robertson's Tiger in what is known as a "seed deal," the people
said.
Other large firms that compete with Tiger to buy into new hedge
funds, including the private-equity giants Blackstone Group LP and
Reservoir Capital Group LLC, often offer several hundred million
dollars in exchange for fee deals that can expire in several
years.
Mr. Kang, who didn't respond to a request for comment, was
earlier an analyst at Tiger Asia Management LLC, a Tiger-seeded
fund that grew to manage more than $5 billion at its peak, but was
later rocked by insider-trading investigations in the U.S. and
Asia.
In 2012, it decided to return outside cash and is now called
Archegos Capital Management LLC
Kang Global is similarly expected to have a focus on Asian
investments.
It will compete against other Asian-focused startups including
Saferidge Capital Partners, the spinout of Asian Century Quest
Capital LLC, once one of the largest hedge-fund firms focused on
Asia. As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, Saferidge is
expected to start in the fourth quarter, led by one of ACQ's six
sector heads.
Tiger Management is run by Mr. Robertson's son, Alex, and the
firm's former head trader, Gil Caffray. Mr. Robertson remains a
senior adviser.
His prior seed investments include Chase Coleman's $6.5 billion
Tiger Global L.P. The technology-focused Tiger Global is up 8.6%
this year through the end of May, people familiar with its
performance said, far outpacing the average hedge fund tracked by
HFR Inc.
Mia Lamar contributed to this article.
Write to Rob Copeland at rob.copeland@wsj.com
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