Joakim Hannisdahl is best known for his work in the highly cyclical shipping industry. After several years as a sell-side shipping analyst, he moved to the buy side and developed a long/short shipping strategy built around quantitative and econometric analysis. That same approach has now been extended to a very different market: cryptocurrencies. Hannisdahl officially launched Gersemi Crypto Fund in mid-2026, a long/short strategy trading cryptocurrencies and related derivatives through a proprietary algorithm. The fund gained 17.5 percent in its first month and is up 39 percent since launch.
From financial econometrics to shipping
Hannisdahl’s quantitative approach has its roots in his academic background and a longstanding interest in mathematics. “I’ve always been very curious about mathematics. From an early age, I’ve been interested in how things work mathematically,” he says. Studying financial econometrics gave him the tools to analyze cyclical patterns and price movements across markets. “It put me in a position to apply a deep mathematical understanding to different cycles and different properties of price movements.”
“I realized that my econometric approach could be very beneficial for medium- to long-term forecasting, and that has basically been the foundation of my career.”
Joakim Hannisdahl
That approach eventually led him to shipping, initially almost by chance. Once there, Hannisdahl found that econometric modelling could be particularly useful in a market characterized by pronounced cycles. “I realized that my econometric approach could be very beneficial for medium- to long-term forecasting, and that has basically been the foundation of my career,” he says.
Applying the framework to crypto
The idea of applying the same quantitative mindset to cryptocurrencies emerged from that experience. “I had some ideas for algorithms I wanted to test in the crypto space, because I had been doing this all the time in the shipping fund, where we use a range of algorithms and short-term trading models to generate returns,” says Hannisdahl.
He began testing the approach using his own capital and spent more than two years developing and refining the algorithm before launching Gersemi Crypto Fund. The fund is structured as a long/short hedge fund, running both long and short positions across cryptocurrencies and derivatives. Hannisdahl says the portfolio is diversified across a range of assets and does not use leverage. “We don’t use leverage, and we maintain both long and short positions with exposure to a range of crypto assets and derivatives.”
“We don’t use leverage, and we maintain both long and short positions with exposure to a range of crypto assets and derivatives.”
Joakim Hannisdahl
At the heart of the strategy is a proprietary, relatively low-frequency algorithm designed to use market information rather than fundamental views on individual cryptocurrencies. “It’s a low-frequency algorithm, using information from the markets, such as volatility, price, volume and a lot of different inputs,” explains Hannisdahl. “But we are not fundamentally investing in crypto. We are just using market information in our algo.”
That distinction is central to the strategy. Rather than trying to determine which cryptocurrency has the strongest fundamental outlook, the algorithm seeks to identify patterns in market behaviour and position the portfolio accordingly. Volatility itself is therefore an important input. “Volatility is our friend in the crypto space,” according to Hannisdahl.
Building an uncorrelated strategy
For Gersemi Asset Management, the crypto strategy also adds a second, differentiated source of returns alongside its shipping fund. Hannisdahl says the two strategies are designed to have limited correlation not only with traditional asset classes but also with the markets in which they operate. “From Gersemi Asset Management’s perspective, it’s very beneficial to have two products, two uncorrelated funds,” notes Hannisdahl. “The shipping fund doesn’t even correlate with shipping, and the crypto fund doesn’t correlate with crypto assets.”
“From Gersemi Asset Management’s perspective, it’s very beneficial to have two products, two uncorrelated funds. The shipping fund doesn’t even correlate with shipping, and the crypto fund doesn’t correlate with crypto assets.”
Joakim Hannisdahl
Despite the strong start, Hannisdahl stresses that the strategy should not be viewed as a low-risk way of gaining exposure to crypto markets. “I want to highlight the extremely high risk and very high volatility,” he says. His backtesting indicates what he describes as a strong risk-adjusted return, but the underlying volatility remains substantial. For investors, the intended role is therefore as a potentially diversifying component. “What we see is a decent risk-adjusted return, but the volatility is very high,” Hannisdahl concludes.
