21/07/2010 Author: Elana Margulies

Former Goldman Sachs duo sets up maiden hedge fund

Thomas de Garidel-Thoron and Herve Gallo, who previously worked together at Goldman Sachs in London as senior equity derivatives traders up until their departure in early 2007, have reconnected to set up their maiden hedge fund manager.

According to a capital introductions document, the duo formed London-based Occitan Capital Partners and expect to roll out the firm’s flagship offering, the Occitan Fund, in November. It is a European-focused strategy combining directional and arbitrage opportunities in equity and derivatives markets. It is also made up of liquid strategies, combining top-down and bottom-up approaches.

Although a dollar amount at launch could not be obtained, the fund has large pre-commitments from two anchor investors.

Garidel-Thoron was most recently with Boussard & Gavaudan Gestion (BGG), an alternative and long-only asset manager with offices in Paris, London and Hong Kong. He joined BGG in 2007 where he was the head trader for UK and financials volatility and equity-based strategies. Besides working at Goldman Sachs, he also was a trader at Salomon Brothers International.