RWC Partners hired a 15-person team to manage new emerging, frontier and Asian markets equity strategies.
RWC has for some time sought to bring a “high-quality” emerging and frontier markets specialist team onto its multiboutique investment platform, CEO Dan Mannix said.
Mr. Mannix said it was only through “very unusual circumstances” that RWC was able to accomplish the task with relative ease.
The team, headed by James Johnstone and John M. Malloy Jr., all worked at Everest Capital until March, when the firm closed most of its hedge funds after wrong-way bets on the Swiss franc caused deep losses in January. As of Dec. 31, Everest Capital managed $3.7 billion, according to its SEC ADV filing.
“It’s hard to find good offerings in emerging markets. It takes a long time to establish an institutional-quality team in these markets, and the team from Everest had already done that. They are well-regarded in the U.S. by institutional investors,” Mr. Mannix said. He added that support from the team’s former clients at Everest for the move has been strong and some have committed $1.3 billion to the new RWC funds. An additional $200 million is in RWC’s pipeline for the new equity strategies and is expected to be invested shortly. Mr. Mannix said.
Messrs. Johnstone and Malloy have been replicating the team’s former long-only emerging and frontier markets equity funds and long/short frontier and Asian strategies on RWC’s platform. Most of the team is based in RWC’s new Miami office and another new office is planned for Singapore.
The Miami-based investment teams pair Mr. Johnstone and Thomas K. Allraum as co-portfolio managers of frontier markets equity strategies, while Mr. Malloy and Luis Laboy are co-portfolio managers for emerging markets stock strategies. Cem Akyurek is the emerging markets team’s economist. Simon Onabowale heads trading in Miami. When the Singapore office opens, Garret Mallal will be portfolio manager and Min Chen will be Asian equity research analyst.
Tord Stallvik is head of U.S. and Frances Selby is head of U.S. institutional business development.
The five remaining ex-Everest employees are in administrative roles, Mr. Mannix said.
At Everest Capital, Messrs. Johnstone and Malloy were senior managing directors and directors of investments; Messrs. Allraum, Laboy and Stallvik were senior managing directors; Mr. Akyurek was macro strategist; Messrs. Mallal, Chen and Onabowale and Ms. Selby were managing directors.
RWC Partners managed $10 billion as of April 30.
