Atom launches Japan event-driven fund

Tokyo-based Atom Capital will act as the sub adviser to the Atom Japan Alpha Fund, an event-driven Cayman Islands domiciled fund due to launch in March 2010. Gordian Capital Singapore will be the investment advisor and Hong Kong-based Penjing Asset Management will seed the fund.

The new fund is targeting a launch with assets of around $20 million, and its capacity is estimated at $500 million. There are no published return or volatility targets, but both are expected to be in the range of 20%, as was the case with a former fund, Atom Japan Equity, which closed in mid-2009 when the seeder withdrew. (This particular seeder actually pulled out of all its seeded funds). Atom Japan was founded in December 2007 and in 2008 returned 17.7%, winning AsianInvestor's Japan hedge fund award last spring.

Portfolio manager Atsuko Tsuchiya founded Atom Capital Management in April 2008. She started out in Japanese equities with Kleinwort Benson, then worked as a portfolio manager at Citadel, before heading a proprietary trading desk at Merrill Lynch. She has also had spells at Sparx Asset Management and Gartmore Japan.

Net exposure for the new fund will typically be +/- 50% and it will employ leverage of around 150%. Tsuchiya perceives a growing opportunity in event-driven trades in Japan, based on the possibility of an increased number of merger-and-acquisition deals and ideas stemming from the volume of new regulation spurred by Japan's new ruling party.

Goldman Sachs is the new fund's prime broker and HSBC the fund administrator.