Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Gladiator Fond of Max Mitteregger has been merged into Adrigo Small & Midcap L/S, with the merger carried out in accordance with the submitted merger plan approved by Finansinspektionen on 28 January 2022. Mitteregger’s long/short equity hedge fund ceased to exist on May 2 after 17 years in operation.
After a streak of poor performance in 2021, Max Mitteregger agreed to merge Gladiator Fond with Staffan Östlin’s Adrigo Small & Midcap L/S. “I have for some time been interested in finding a platform where Gladiator and its inherited management focus and philosophy can continue to prosper,” Mitteregger said in mid-December 2021 about the decision to hand over Gladiator Fond’s remaining assets to Staffan Östlin. “A guiding principle has been that my co-investors should get the best possible continuation,” he said. “I have known Staffan for a long time and we have also worked together for several years. It was natural to contact him and Adrigo about a merger of the funds.”
Following the merger, Gladiator Fond’s remaining investors now own “Class C SEK” units in Adrigo Small & Midcap L/S. Gladiator Fond, which used to manage over SEK 5.5 billion in assets under management in late 2018, had SEK 367 million under management at the end of April. Mitteregger’s long/short equity fund managed to recoup some of last year’s loss of 51.4 percent after advancing 12.9 percent in the first four months of 2022. After more than 17 years at the helm of Gladiator Fond and generating an annualized return of 6.2 percent since February 2005, Mitteregger will continue to serve as Senior Advisor to East Capital Group’s Adrigo platform.
Adrigo Small & Midcap L/S, managed by CIO Staffan Östlin and his co-portfolio manager Johan Eriksson, maintains a Nordic-focused, concentrated, high-conviction portfolio that houses between 25 to 30 long positions, with roughly a similar number of short positions to reduce net market exposure. The fund has generated an annualized return of 9.4 percent since launching in late 2017 despite ending the first four months of 2022 down 16.4 percent.