28/11/2011 Author: Gwyn Roberts

Martin Coward systematic fund to launch next quarter

Martin Coward, co-founder of the storied computer-driven fund Ikos, is to launch his new systematic trading fund in the first quarter of next year, under the unassuming name of ‘Dormouse’, HFMWeek can reveal.

The fund, which has been seeded with $50m of Coward’s own money, is currently talking to outside investors, including a number of family offices and funds of hedge funds, as it looks to grow the business prior to launch.

Coward, when approached for comment, told HFMWeek that the business was ambitious and hoping to raise over $1bn, with eventual plans to equal the assets of his former firm which managed close to $3.5bn at its peak.

The fund – which was described by Coward as a stripped down and “deceptively simple” systematic trading strategy using mostly futures contracts – will be staffed by two former Ikos professionals, including portfolio manager Eric Westphal, as well as a range of fresh hires covering technical functions, operational duties, sales and marketing.

Although it has set up a Cayman structure for outside investors, Dormouse is currently run as a managed account and has been trading for six months from a European location. It is up 7% gross for the year.

Coward is still tied up in legal wrangles following his departure from Ikos, which he founded with his estranged wife, Elena Ambrosiadou. He has offered his former business a ‘legal audit’ to distinguish his latest venture from the code that drives Ikos’ own systematic trading strategies.