Can Golvis Break the Goldman Sachs Hedge Fund Curse?

Despite a mixed record of former employees starting their own asset management firms, a trio of former managing directors from Goldman Sachs have plans to start a hedge fund in Asia with a sharp focus on Japan.

According to media reports, former managing directors Koji Gotoda and Takayuki Kasama have incorporated Golvis Investment Pte in Singapore - and they’re not alone. Apparently nine out of the 11 or so Golvis employees once worked at Goldman Sachs including a third as yet unnamed managing director.

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Sources close to the launch say that the new fund will invest in all asset classes and it will have an initial focus on Japan. Gotoda is a former convertible bond trader while Kasama served as co-head of Japan credit trading for Goldman Sachs before leaving the firm.

Gotoda will unveil his plan to potential investors at Goldman Sachs’s annual Asia hedge fund conference in October, according to media reports.

Just because a hedge fund has a Goldman Sachs pedigree doesn’t mean that it is destined for success. This has been a rough year for hedge funds in general and those run by Goldman Sachs veterans were hit hard as well. Hedge funds started by star traders Pierre-Henri Flamand and Morgan Sze both folded earlier this year. Benros Capital, a hedge fund started by two former traders from Goldman Sachs, shut down after less than two years of trading, after its main investor said that it failed "to live up to expectations."

Schadenfreude aside, Golvis may be launching at the right time and in the right region. According to ValueWalk, hedge funds in Asia are doing rather well. They’re up by 0.90 percent in July, with 70 percent of reporting funds delivering positive returns during the month; Funds of hedge funds outperformed single manager funds in July, up 0.98 percent and remain ahead year-to-date; and Japanese hedge funds outperformed the Nikkei 225 for the third consecutive month.

Perhaps the Goldman Sachs hedge fund curse might lift provided they operate across the specific. WST will keep you posted.

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Phil Albinus is the former editor-in-chief of Advanced Trading. He has nearly two decades of journalism experience and has been covering financial technology and regulation for nine years. Before joining Advanced Trading, he served as editor of Waters, a monthly trade journal ... View Full Bio