A former Nomura trader launched a new hedge fund this Monday. According to a report published by Bloomberg, Desmond How's fund will be focusing on emerging-market corporate bonds.
How will be opening the hedge fund at his current company - GaoTeng Global Asset Management. Based in Hong Kong, GaoTeng is owned by Chinese conglomerate Tencent Holdings and investment management company Hillhouse Capital.
Prior to the launch of the hedge fund this Monday, How was working as GaoTeng's Head of Fixed Income.
The fund manager told Bloomberg that GoaTeng's new venture is capable of managing up to $3 billion, but he did not reveal how much the company has raised so far.
As with many in the hedge fund world today, GaoTeng and How apparently see an opportunity to make some money in the credit markets. The new fund will be setting its sights on dollar-denominated debt, with emerging markets having seen a swathe of defaults in the past twelve months.
“I might be contrarian but I think we already entered the credit bear market last year,” How told Bloomberg. “We are likely to witness more Volatility this year, which is a great backdrop for our new fund.”
From Prudential to GaoTeng
How joined GaoTeng in 2017 - the same year the firm was itself launched. Before joining the asset manager, he worked for almost a decade at Nomura, having joined Lehman Brothers, which was acquired by the Japanese firm in the same year, back in 2008.
During his time at the Japanese banking giant, he gained a reputation as being something of a savvy investor. Managing the company's proprietary trading desk in Hong Kong, he was chosen as Asset Magazine's Most Astute Investor in Asian G3 Bonds for four years in a row.
According to a profile of How posted on the GaoTeng company website, he worked as a Senior Portfolio Manager at Prudential Investment Management (now known as PGIM) prior to joining Nomura.
