Eschler Asset Management LLP's founder Theron de Ris, who launched a small long/ short deep value hedge fund seven years ago while working full time, tells Opalesque about his fund's evolution since his April 2013 interview with New Managers.

"I spent the first several years managing capital for friends and family and building a track record (alongside a day job at Indus Capital)," de Ris says. "Since 2017, I've been managing the fund full-time out of the same office in Savile Row, London. We are now a full-time team of three, myself as portfolio manager, a COO and a director of marketing. We have a dozen investors in the fund, which is now CIMA registered, and we are now (finally!) opening to outside capital. Last but not least, we've secured working capital for the management company and have a couple of years of operating expenses in the bank."

The Recovery Fund launched in October 2012 with $2.2m in AuM split between his own savings and two external backers. Now the fund is bigger and he is targeting $15m by year-end 2019. The original fund is now in a B share class, with the same fee characteristics: 0% for management, 25% for incentive above a 6% hurdle, and a minimum subscription of $5m.

A new A share class charges 1% for management and 15% for performance above a 3% hurdle. Umbrella Running a fund is not all Eschler AM does. As the firm is authorised as an AIFM (Alternative Investment Fund Manager), it has been able to help some independent advisors get off the ground. As they are regulated by Eschler, this allows them a faster, more cost-effective route to market than getting their companies authorised directly. "We work with five managers and will be onboarding a few more," says de Ris. "Our revenue comes from a flat monthly fee, not from stakes in their business. This side business has really helped us get up the regulatory learning curve."

Strategy

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This article was published in Opalesque's New Managers a top-down monthly analysis, news and research publication on the global emerging manager space.