Mellon Global Investments Australia is looking for an investment strategist to assist its new San Francisco-based Australian market neutral strategy, and has just hired a new analyst.

The Mellon Capital Australian market neutral strategy already has a US seed investor and James Gruver, Mellon Australian managing director, said he expected two Australian investors to be finalised by early next year. The analyst will be announced this week. Warren Chiang, Mellon Capital director of enhanced equity strategies, said the Australian-based analyst would assist the firm with assessing local issues such as franking credits but the majority of the research would be conducted out of the San Francisco headquarters. “They will be our local eyes and ears,” he said in Australia recently. According to Chiang there are benefits to managing the money externally, particularly for a quant shop like Mellon Capital, as analysts were not distracted by local ‘noise’. “We’re not tempted to add short-term alpha,” he said. Mellon will also launch a 130/30 strategy and the market neutral strategy will be included in the fund’s global multi-strategy fund to be launched later next year. Capacity for both strategies combined will be capped at between $500 million and $700 million.