By ClaireMakin
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Jon Little and Nicola Meaden Grenham
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When Alpha Strategic PLC launched as an AIM-listed UK company in 2005, it could have been overlooked as one more small company with a nice idea.
But the man behind the idea was Colin Barrow, who had previously built up the fund operation at Man Group, Europe’s largest listed hedge fund firm. Barrow, who is Alpha Strategic’s chairman, wanted to create a new type of hedge fund business, but this time by doing innovative ‘cash for revenue-share’ deals with top-tier managers.
To prove the point, Alpha Strategic’s first move was a headline-grabbing deal with Winton Capital Management, the systematic trading firm founded by David Harding. There followed a similar deal with 12-year-old quantitative trader IKOS Asset Management.
At issue, as Alpha Strategic’s management sees it, is the future of multi-manager investing. Their aim is to build up a...