Guggenheim Partners has announced a management group has bought out its multi-strategy hedge fund, spinning it out into a new firm named Deimos Asset Management.
According to the New York-based firm, the buyout group included Mark Standish, the former co-CEO of Royal Bank of Canada’s capital markets group. He will join Loren Katzovitz and Patrick Hughes, managing partners of Guggenheim Global Trading (GGT), the firm’s alternative investment management business.
Deimos will also retain GGT’s current senior management team including CFO Michael Carrieri, Chief Compliance Officer Thomas Wynn, and Chief Risk Officer Jules Buxbaum, Guggenheim said.
The new firm will begin operations “on or about February 1, 2015” at its Purchase, New York office, according to its SEC filings in January. Guggenheim did not disclose the terms of the transaction, but said Los Angeles-based Ares Management will invest in Deimos.
Launched in 2011, GGT managed more than $600 million in assets, according to the firm’s website, which has been shut down since the announcement of the sale.
The hedge fund invested mainly in equities, but also used various strategies including merger arbitrage, fundamental equity research, and quantitative analysis across sectors.
According to CNBC, GGT’s main multi-strategy fund fell 5% in 2014 through November. The company’s overall performance also lagged behind benchmarks since 2012 and had failed to meet its goals of raising $2 billion.
The news organization also reported that Guggenheim had fired at least eight senior executives from GGT largely due to performance.
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