A FRENCH REVOLUTION? MACRO MAGNET PREMIA LEAGUE With Brexit looming, can Paris prosper Investors flock to Europe’s global macro La Française on their $3.4bn range of as an alternative industry hub? funds as rates rise and volatility grows alternative risk premia products OCTOBER 2018 OCTOBER OCTOBER 2018 ROBINSON’SROBINSON’S RETURNRETURN ONE OF THE BIGGEST NAMES OF THE NOUGHTIES IS BACK: LEE ROBINSON OPENS UP ON CRYPTO, BREXIT AND PLANS FOR HIS RAPIDLY-GROWING FIRM COVER FEATURE ALTANA WEALTH Disclaimer: This publication is for information purposes only. It is not investment advice and any mention of a fund is in no way an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy the fund. Any information in this publication should not be the basis for an investment decision. EuroHedge does not guarantee and takes no responsibility for the accuracy of the information or the statistics contained in this document. Subscribers should not circulate this publication to members of the public, as sales of the products mentioned may not be eligible or suitable for general sale in some countries. Copyright in this document is owned by Pageant Media Limited and any unauthorised copying, distribution, selling or lending of this document is prohibited. EUROHEDGE MEETS… LEE ROBINSON BY WILL WAINEWRIGHT One of the biggest names of the noughties is back. Lee Robinson speaks out on crypto, Brexit and plans for his rapidly-growing firm ee Robinson made his damaging, but the most destructive firm’s more recent progress. After years name – and many mil- event for hedge funds and their ability out of the spotlight, he has given Euro- L lions – co-founding the to raise money was Madoff,” says Rob- Hedge his first major interview to mark event-driven specialist inson. “Investors – whether families, the firm’s swift growth and success in Trafalgar Asset Managers in the nough- individuals or fund of funds guys – who an array of strategies. ties. The industry’s pre-crisis heyday had for years done things on trust Robinson’s return to prominence has was good to the outspoken Austral- found themselves blown out of the wa- resulted in part from the success of the ian, who honed his trading skills at ter. It destroyed confidence in process Altana Digital Currency Fund (ADCF), Bankers Trust and Tudor Investments and due diligence.” which posted a quadruple-digit return in the 1990s. In 2008, Robinson and Investors flocked to the biggest firms last year. He drew headlines as one of co-founder Theo Phanos sold a stake in as allocators plumped for firms that the first mainstream hedge fund man- Trafalgar to Petershill, the private equi- they would not be fired for selecting. agers to take on cryptocurrencies – but ty unit owned by Goldman Sachs. “It killed the hedge fund industry for a his firm also runs products in more va- So far, so familiar. Robinson’s story in long time and changed the investment nilla areas, such as event-driven credit the decade after the financial crisis is industry forever,” adds Robinson. and corporate bonds. less well-known. After starting a fam- Altana Wealth relied mainly on his Investors are taking notice, with as- ily office in Monaco, he eventually left fortune for several years. “I grossly sets more than doubling since the mid- Trafalgar – which continues today as underestimated how difficult it would dle of 2017 to about $500m. Altana CapeView Investments – to focus on his be,” he admits. But the 49-year-old has grown from a 12-person operation new venture, Altana Wealth. has no regrets, particularly given the to 30 and further growth seems likely. “Starting Altana then was a terrible Robinson was met with interest from FIRM FACTS decision in hindsight,” Robinson, in typ- institutions when he recently visited ically candid style, tells EuroHedge at ALTANA WEALTH New York for the first time in three his firm’s London office. “It was incredi- years. Elevation to the Billion Dollar About $500m under management. bly difficult to raise money in 2012-13. Club, which for so long seemed unlike- Investors were only writing tickets to 60% of assets run in Enhanced Index Fund, ly, could be around the corner. big established firms.” which sells calls and put spreads across Robinson is setting no targets, but The financial crisis, a brutal time for short-dated maturities and multiple strikes. his enthusiasm is clear. “I’m enjoying many hedge funds, and subsequent Targets passive investors. Altana,” he says. “I’m dealing with Madoff scandal had killed appetite for a lot of innovative areas. My crypto 30 staff in London and Monaco. start-up funds. “The 2008 crisis was and machine-learning guys all have a OCTOBER 2018 COVER FEATURE ALTANA WEALTH THE AUSTRALIAN CONNECTION clients. Imagine it is 1905 or 1910 ing-class roots in Australia and north- Lee Robinson is not the only Australian to have made and you are told the growth of the east England. a name in the hedge fund industry: car industry will render horse-drawn His parents were British and migrat- Alfred Winslow Jones, a financial journalist and carriages obsolete,” he says. “What do ed to Australia as “ten-pound Poms” in investor widely seen as the “father” of the modern I invest in – cars, engines, service sta- 1968 and he was born a year later. His hedge fund industry, was born in Melbourne. tions? Well, if the car business booms, father worked at the local steel works Greg Coffey, whose link to Australia is perhaps the there will be a lot of miles travelled, before the family returned after nine most widely known because of his “Wizard of Oz” a lot of mileage. The best investment years and Robinson was educated at nickname, returned to manage money in London 100 years ago was oil.” a state school in Cleethorpes, near this year with Kirkoswald Capital Partners. The for- He sees Bitcoin as the fuel for Grimsby. A mathematics scholarship mer GLG Partners and Moore Capital star “retired” blockchain. “For every blockchain to Magdalene College, Cambridge in 2012 after making his reputation – and fortune – transaction there is a tiny payment changed everything for him. as a global macro trader. needed of Bitcoin. If you have millions “It was eye-opening,” says Robinson. Sir Michael Hintze, who was born in China but grew of transactions, they add up to quite “To see a world of privilege on TV is one up in Australia and served in the army before enter- a bit.” And managing the volatility? thing, but to see it up close in real life; ing finance, founded CQS Management almost 20 “The difference between a profes- the different quality of education that years ago. The credit-focused multi-strategy man- sional and an investor is knowing comes from smaller classrooms and ager now runs $16.6bn, making his firm the eighth when to sell.” the best teachers. Many of my peers largest hedge fund manager in Europe, according to This is a point of principle for Robin- at Cambridge had done sport every the latest EuroHedge Billion Dollar Club. son. “I always ask investors to join me in day at their schools. At my school in Perth-born Hilton Nathanson founded Marble Bar redeeming if the timing is right and the Cleethorpes we had one session of Asset Management in 2002, which grew into one of opportunity has passed. That is what sport every week, either cross-country the best-known hedge fund firms of the noughties. alignment of interest and alpha and or football.” hence Altana is all about.” A former col- His background is different to many league tells EuroHedge that Robinson’s of the hedge fund elite, with many positive outlook and early-stage ca- focus on risk management should not leading lights – from George Robinson reer energy about them. It really does be underestimated. to Chris Rokos – schooled at Eton. A rub off on you.” former colleague says you only need to Cleethorpes to Cambridge look to Robinson’s background to see The crypto pitch We are discussing cryptocurrencies in where his ferocious drive and outspo- His excitement is especially obvious Altana’s Mayfair boardroom, a stone’s ken nature originated. when discussing crypto, a phenome- throw from Oxford Circus. An Andy “I didn’t realise until my mid-twen- non unlike any previous in his career. Warhol screen print of the Queen ties what I am, which is a very creative “Crypto has put everything I’ve ever dominates the wall behind him. It is problem solver,” he says. “Markets are done in volatile markets into second all a long way from Robinson’s work- the biggest puzzle of all because they place,” he says. “There was no institu- tional presence five years ago, when ALTANA’S CRYPTO RETURNS we got involved. Only retail. It is trad- 3,000% ed 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Trading information is often in a for- eign language. The price movement 2,500% is incredible, it looks almost out of Altana Digital Currency Fund control.” 2,000% Digital currency products account for just $25m of Altana assets, with 1,500% the ADCF complemented by a crypto trade finance fund, which extends loans. Despite the small size, Robinson 1,000% takes the asset class seriously. “My job is to make investment decisions 500% where I have an information or struc- ture advantage,” he says. In a largely 0% retail market, his long track record as a professional investor has given him an edge. -500% He is serious about blockchain too. Jan-15 Jan-16 Jan-17 Jan-18 “I always use the example of cars with TIMELINE: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LEE ROBINSON ROBINSON ON… are constantly changing – the numbers October 1969 Born in Australia to British change, the rules change, the players parents.