14/12/2011 Author: Elana Margulies

Capstone Advisors closes down its Singapore office

Capstone Investment Advisors, the New York-based $1.3bn global volatility hedge fund manager, has ended its presence in Singapore in an effort to centralise its trading in both New York and London, HFMWeek has learned.

According to a source familiar with the firm’s plans, of the six employees based in Singapore, predominantly traders, three have relocated to London while the remaining three will pursue other opportunities in the region. Asia-focused trading for Capstone’s strategies will also be undertaken from London.  

Capstone’s flagship offering, the Capstone Volatility Master Fund, is up approximately 11% year-to-date through November, according to an investor letter.

HFMWeek reported in early 2008 that Capstone was readying a long volatility-only fund offering portfolio protection to institutions at a lower cost than traditional methods, called the Capstone Vega Shield fund.

The firm’s decision to relocate comes as more and more hedge fund service providers move in the opposite direction to capitalise on the booming demand for financial services in Asia.

Kinetic Partners and ACA Compliance Group, the regulatory and compliance advisory firms, are both opening new Hong Kong offices in the new year, as revealed by HFMWeek last month.  

Eze Castle Integration, the technology provider, is moving senior staff to its newly set-up Hong Kong office early next year, in response to an increasing demand from clients in Asia, particularly for cloud computing services.