Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Analyst-turned-hedge fund manager Joakim Hannisdahl has left the Cleaves Securities-backed asset management firm he co-founded and led as CEO due to “irreconcilable differences” with the Cleaves head office, according to TradeWinds. Hannisdahl co-founded Cleaves Asset Management to run the shipping-only hedge fund Cleaves Shipping Fund, which returned close to 30 percent in U.S. dollars since its launch in October of last year through the end of August 2022.

“I have done my utmost to continue the fund as a going concern with me as the fund manager, but I have been unsuccessful in my efforts,” Hannisdahl wrote in a statement to clients seen by TradeWinds. “The investors are always my top priority and I feel personally responsible for the current situation, despite the situation having arisen due to actions taken which are outside of my control.”

“I have done my utmost to continue the fund as a going concern with me as the fund manager, but I have been unsuccessful in my efforts.”

After years as a sell-side analyst focusing on the shipping sector, Hannisdahl was appointed as the CEO of Cleaves Asset Management in the second half of 2021 to run the newly-established shipping hedge fund, Cleaves Shipping Fund. Before co-founding the asset management firm, he had served as Head of Research at Cleaves Securities since October 2018 after Cleaves acquired his own shipping-focused independent equity research platform, Gersemi Research.

Cleaves Shipping Fund was launched within a Norwegian alternative investment fund structure in October last year before launching in an Irish structure this summer to open up access to a larger investor audience beyond the Norwegian market. According to maritime, shipping and offshore-focused media platform Splash, Cleaves Securities has informed investors that a new team had been put in place to run the shipping hedge fund.

Hannisdahl, meanwhile, hinted he would continue his asset management career. “I have continuously delivered strong returns to investors over many years and I have the intention to continue doing the same in the future.” He registered a new Norwegian company – Gersemi Asset Management – with a name originating from the name of his former firm that was acquired by Cleaves in 2018.