Sequoia Capital Management, the Sydney-based global macro hedge fund boutique formed three years ago by former ambassador to China, Ross Garnaut, is returning all its investors’ money and searching for a buyer.
With only $US10 million under management, Sequoia’s general manager, Ian White, said the business was no longer viable, and a buyer of its intellectual property and fund infrastructure was being sought before the deadline for its next ASIC filing on October 31. White said Sequoia’s style, of unconstrained global macro bets with a particular emphasis on Asian market insights, had struggled for attention in a crowded market dominated by large hedge fund-of-funds. “It’s all about how you market it, and a better resourced parent would help in that regard…the process is sound, the intellectual capital is excellent and the contacts within the Asian region would be hard for anyone else to replicate,” he said. Sequoia was formed in 2003 by Ross Garnaut, who in addition to being Australia’s ambassador to China between 1985 and 1988, has been heavily involved in the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies. The investment director is Peter Jonson, the former managing director of ANZ Funds Management, while Ian White was instrumental in forming AMP’s Asian distribution strategy in 2004.
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