Prospect's McKinnon joins Trident

Angus McKinnon, previously research director at $1.3 billion Japan-focused Prospect Asset Management, has joined Trident Pacific Capital as a senior partner.

Trident Pacific, a start up hedge fund based in Singapore and Tokyo, was launched in December 2004 by a team of four partners. McKinnon joins the team as a senior partner, with Trident's existing shareholders selling him a controlling stake.

In his new role McKinnon will be based in Tokyo, and will take charge of group management as well as managing the Trident Pacific Japan Absolute Return fund, a mid-cap focused Japan long/short fund. He will be supported by Trident's initial four founders.

Masayo Kamano (ex-American Express Asset Management) will act as co-fund manager and Jens Muenster (ex-WestLB) as head trader. Michael Clemons continues as COO and Christoph Schockemoehle will focus on risk management.

Trident currently has less than $5 million under management, but the team is confident that McKinnon's several years of experience at one of Japan's largest hedge funds will bring added credibility to the team, and attract further capital.

Prospect, founded by Curtis Freeze, is one of the larger independent asset managers focusing on Japan and manages around $1.3 billion in a range of Japan focused products including a long-only, long/short and J-REIT fund.

Commenting on the addition of McKinnon, Michael Clemons says, "We're delighted Angus is joining us. His proven and extremely successful track record in the Japanese long/short arena provides the perfect match for our team."

McKinnon adds, "It's exciting to be part of the Trident team. I have enormous respect for the partners, their professional approach and depth of experience. They have created an excellent product for investors one that I believe will be a great success."