Aberdeen eyes $200m for new fund of hedge funds

Aberdeen Investments plans to launch a $200 million fund dedicated to hedge funds, named "Hedge Fund Legends," as reported by Fund Selector Asia. The fund will focus on providing institutional and private-banking investors in Asia with access to a select group of established hedge fund managers. It aims to invest in eight to ten hedge funds, with strategies ranging from multi-strategy and equity market neutral to credit relative value, systematic macro, and event-driven investing.

The managers being considered for the fund include Capula for its global relative-value strategy and Millennium, a multi-strategy hedge fund firm. The fund's allocation will be based on due diligence, capacity availability, and Aberdeen's portfolio construction process, with final allocations subject to these factors. Dongyue Zhang, Aberdeen's head of investment specialists for APAC, multi-asset, alternatives, and quantitative investment strategies, sees opportunities for hedge funds due to market dispersion and divergent movements in interest rates, currencies, and commodities.

The fund aims to generate an absolute US dollar return of cash plus 5%, rather than providing regular income. Manager selection will focus on investment processes and risk-adjusted returns, rather than solely on a firm's reputation. The portfolio will not use equal weighting, with position sizes reflecting factors such as conviction, liquidity, capacity, risk, and diversification.

Aberdeen will manage manager selection, investment and operational due diligence, portfolio construction, liquidity management, risk oversight, and ongoing monitoring. The firm expects to oversee a stable roster of managers while retaining flexibility to adjust allocations based on evolving investment opportunities, capacity, liquidity, and risk characteristics.

The current value of Aberdeen's hedge funds and alternative credit investments as of June 2026 is $18.8 billion, with a dedicated research team of over 20 professionals based in New York and London. The exact fee structure has not been determined, but Aberdeen expects the fund to offer cost-efficient access to the underlying managers while providing additional services through manager selection, portfolio construction, and risk management.