Oceanwood Raises $250M Fund For Bets on European Economic Recovery

Oceanwood Capital Management has raised $250 million in a new hedge fund to capitalize on economic recovery in Europe.

Oceanwood has raised the capital from existing investors and plans to have a $350 million final close for the fund in September, according to a Reuters report.

The new fund, named Oceanwood Peripheral European Select Opportunities Fund, will invest across asset classes with a primary focus on financial sector stocks in countries typically considered among Europe’s weakest, as Ireland, Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece.

It aims to return 15-20% annually, Reuters said, and will be managed by Oceanwood founder Christopher Gate and Julian Garcia Woods.

With more than two-thirds of European hedge funds below $200 million in size, the Oceanwood launch is one of the largest to start this year. The launch is also conspicuous because of its timing, coming as the Greece debt crisis comes to a head and financial markets prepare for a range of potential outcomes, including default and ejection from the euro.

However, volatility is traditionally seen as an opportunity for hedge funds, and the aggressive quantitative easing under way by the European Central Bank will likely support financial assets for some time to come.

London-based Oceanwood is a $2.2 billion multi-strategy hedge fund founded by Gate and spun out from Tudor Group in 2006. Its flagship Global Opportunities Fund, which has returned 10.2% so far in 2015, manages assets for high profile pension funds, such as School Employees Retirement System of Ohio and Pennsylvania Public School Employees’ Retirement System.

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