Kurt Baker to launch new Greater China hedge fund

Kurt Baker, who was the head of Asian prime broking for Morgan Stanley until 2008, is about to launch a new hedge fund named JT Greater China Fund.

The fund will have a Greater China long/short strategy. Fees are 2% management fee and 20% performance fee. The fund operates on quarterly redemptions with 35 days' notice; lock-ups are still to be announced.

Baker has been at the Morgan Stanley Asian Hedge Fund Investment Forum this week in Shanghai. As head of Morgan Stanley prime broking, he was a record-breaking hat-trick recipient of AsianInvestor's 'Best Asian Prime Broker' trophy.

He has co-founded a new alternative investment management firm named JT Capital Management, which is based in Hong Kong and Beijing, with Dr Larry Zhang.

Zhang will be CIO and co-CEO of the new fund. His most recent job was as a senior adviser to China's National Council for Social Security Fund. He has also been a partner at London-based hedge fund GSA Capital and ran the BGI Asia-ex Japan Fund.

The new fund is sponsored by Harvest International, China's second largest fund manager, with assets under management of $30 billion.

As co-CEO, Baker will be looking after JT Capital's risk management, office management, compliance and all other non-investment activities.

After leaving Morgan Stanley in 2008, he founded an alternative investment platform company named Cranmore Capital before embarking on this JT Capital venture.