Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – After launching Protean Capital Management in mid-August 2021 to pool and invest capital in listed Nordic equities via a family office setting, Pontus Dackmo – later joined by Carl Gustafsson from Didner & Gerge – is planning the launch of a long-biased equity hedge fund. The fund, called Protean Select, is expected to launch in April this year.
Pontus Dackmo and Carl Gustafsson started fund management company Protean Funds Scandinavia AB last week and are in the process of handing in the application to the Swedish Financial Services Authority, Finansinspektionen, to manage external capital. “If all goes well, the hedge fund “Protean Select” will open its doors during April 2022,” says Dackmo, who has many years of experience as an investor and equity capital markets participant through various roles at ABG Sundall Collier, Danske Bank, Nordea and SEB. “Since exiting 99% of all equity positions for Protean Capital in early December, we have watched the rocky markets from the sidelines and are convinced, now more than ever, this is a near-ideal timing to launch a versatile limited-size hedge fund. Long-only funds are just that: Long-only.”
“…This is a near-ideal timing to launch a versatile limited-size hedge fund. Long-only funds are just that: Long-only.”
“Our path to starting a fund came from a number of people approaching us as a private investment vehicle asking whether we would accept additional outside capital,” explains Dackmo in a letter. Protean Select, also available through a retail tranche requiring a minimum first deposit of SEK 100,000 and offering quarterly liquidity, will charge investors a fixed annual management fee of 1.2 percent and a performance fee of 20 percent on returns above four percent plus the government interest rate.
The duo’s investment strategy “is derived from the fact we’re managing our own assets: we want acceptable returns but hate losing money,” writes Dackmo. “The gist of our idea is to offer a vehicle for limited co-investment in an adaptive strategy, with attention paid to risk mitigation and size constraints,” continues the investment manager. “We don’t market ourselves as “deeply fundamental investors who want to buy great companies at bargain prices,” or “event-driven investors arbitrageing across the capital structure” or “small-cap growth investors.”
“We know the Scandinavian markets well, and believe that, for someone with a small enough fund, there are ample opportunities for returns both on the long and short side.”
“We’re ready to deploy all those tactics, as what we’re looking for is asymmetric opportunity – in whatever shape or form it presents itself,” says Dackmo. “Hence the hedge fund structure, allowing us both the option to hedge, run a high cash balance and even use leverage if and when we see fit,” he emphasizes. “We know the Scandinavian markets well, and believe that, for someone with a small enough fund, there are ample opportunities for returns both on the long and short side.”
Photo by Maxime Horlaville on Unsplash
