Asian hedge fund manager, Orchard Capital Partners Ltd, has seen assets in its Orchard Gemini Fund, which began trading January this year, catapult from USD7millioPARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Asian hedge fund manager, Orchard Capital Partners Ltd, has seen assets in its Orchard Gemini Fund, which began trading January this year, catapult from USD7million to USD96.2million (as of Dec 1st) according to Bloomberg this week. Speaking to Reuters earlier this year, Teall Edds (pictured) and Stuart Wilson, who quit Milwaukee-based Stark Investments and took the firm’s Hong Kong and Singapore operations with them, said they hoped to grow the fund to USD500million within two to three years; and they certainly seem to be on track. Furthermore, the fund has delivered an impressive 21 per cent since January – the average Asia ex-Japan equity l/s strategy having only returned 8.41 per cent YTD according to Eurekahedge. Edds told Bloomberg that many investors found that the macro headwinds were difficult to contend with for the bulk of the year, adding, “the more liquid equity strategies is where the investor appetite was this year”. Edds believes that 2010 has been more of a “trading environment” than an investment environment. The Orchard Gemini Fund invests across Asia, from Australia and South Korea to Japan and Singapore. For much of the year it has been focused on China, India and Indonesia, being particularly bullish on the latter which has enjoyed significant demand for its coal reserves. However, the biggest gains (13 per cent) were made in September and October when the fund’s focus shifted to developed Asian economies in response to inflationary concerns in the region’s emerging markets.