After nine months without a local chief, global hedge fund-of-funds group Financial Risk Management has hired a well-known hedge fund identity to lead a renewed charge in Australia.

Replacing Derek Goodyer is Richard Keary, who in his 10 years at Rothschild Australia Asset Management and BT Financial Group became this country’s first major institutional investor to seed domestic hedge funds.

Keary built BT’s hedge fund-of-funds and commodities multimanager business to FUM of $1.8 billion by the time of his departure at the end of 2006.  FRM will hope he can repeat the trick, as it was not spared in the rush of redemptions which plagued hedge fund managers over the past 18 months. The group reported US$15 billion under management globally in mid-2008,  but today that is down to US$9 billion.

Keary said he was attracted to FRM’s “flexible, consultative” approach, which recognised that “after the events of 2008, investors want and require more transparency, flexibility and control in how they invest in hedge funds”.

Keary will remain on the investment committee of Robert Whyte’s family office, Audant.