Joseph McAlinden, the former chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, has formally announced the establishment of Catalpa Capital, an investment management firm.

Joseph McAlinden, the former chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Investment Management, has formally announced the establishment of Catalpa Capital, an investment management firm.

McAlinden has also revealed the support of initial investors including his former employer, unveiled the new firm's senior management team, and launched Catalpa Capital's first investment product, a global hedge fund.

'We are extremely pleased with our partners who have chosen to invest in Catalpa,' McAlinden says. 'We have received seed money from a few prominent investors, and we are excited that Morgan Stanley is supportive of our venture.'

Catalpa's first fund, Global Thematic Opportunities, is a hedge fund that focuses on identifying major market discontinuities rather than analysing individual securities. The fund implements positions through futures, exchange-traded funds and customised baskets of securities to diversify away idiosyncratic risk and isolate thematic opportunities.

Joining McAlinden as senior executives at Catalpa are chief investment strategist Warren Hatch, a former executive director at Morgan Stanley, and chief financial officer Andrew de Montille, who was formerly co-head of Lehman Brothers' hedge fund consulting business.