The Singapore office will join Pengana's existing offices in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Chicago and Connecticut, and will act as a research and product development hub, supporting Pengana's funds management activities.

Russel Pillemer, chief executive of Pengana Capital, says the Singapore office forms an important part of Pengana's Asia Pacific regional growth strategy.

'With our strong capital base and long term focus, we believe we have strategically timed our entry into this market,' he says.'This is a significant move for Pengana. The Asian region is a key driver of global economic growth. Having expert investment professionals on the ground will help us identify and evaluate investment opportunities as they arise and will enable our clients to capitalise on this growth. To my knowledge, we are the only Australian fund manager which has a dedicated research base in Singapore.'

Pengana manages an Asia Special Events Fund and an Asian Equities Long Short Fund.

The three investment professionals who will be based in the Singapore office, Douglas Isles, Ashley Durante and Vikas Kumra, will be charged with research and product development initiatives in the Asian region.

Isles, who will head the Singapore operation, believes markets across Asia present great long-term opportunities for investors.

'While many peers are downsizing, there is a paradox that the apparently tougher marketing environment is accompanied by an improving investment climate. Given our business objectives, it's the perfect time to be opening our office in Singapore,' Isles says.

Isles joins Pengana from Platinum Asset Management where he spent five years as an investment analyst covering global equities with a focus on industrials. Prior to his role at Platinum, he was employed as an actuary with Commonwealth Bank of Australia and as an investment manager with Aegon in the UK.