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Komfie Manalo, Opalesque Asia:

Global investment firm KKR & Co LP or Kohlberg Kravis Roberts said it would shut down its hedge fund that invests in stocks after making waves in 2010 when the firm poached a team of proprietary traders from investment bank Goldman Sachs Group, various media reported.

The New York Times said KKR’s hedge fund division, KES, has divested its positions and would return investors money in the coming days. The proprietary team, led by Robert Howard, failed to achieve the goal set by KKR. KES managed $510m in assets as of May, with around $337m from outside investors.

A spokeswoman for KKR said, "Given this shift and the lack of scale, we have decided to close K.K.R. Equity Strategies and return capital to investors. However, Howard will be retained as a part-time senior adviser while he considers his options.

The report said KKR will now focus on building stakes in other hedge funds and seed money to emerging one through its hedge fund solutions unit Prisma. Last year, KKR bought an estimated 25% stakes in Nephila Capital, a hedge fund focused on reinsurance opportunities tied to catastrophes like hurricanes and earthquakes.

Citigroup Inc analyst William Katz commented on KKR’s latest m......................

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