Gottex Fund Management Sarl, the investment arm of global alternative asset management group Gottex Fund Management, has partnered with Headland Strategic for a joint venture that caters to hedge fund managers in Asia.

Headland, based in Hong Kong, was founded by former Goldman Sachs executive Johannes Kaps and ex-Blackstone senior manager Michael Garrow. In this deal, the firm's mandate is to partner selectively with top-tier investment teams to establish institutional quality hedge funds in Asia, whereas Gottex will provide infrastructure, risk analytics, research and institutional services while taking an equity interest in the JV.

Kaps and Garrow will constitute a majority of the business's ownership. V-Nee Yeh, co-founder and honorary chairman of Value Partners, and other prominent investors in Asia will also take ownership and commit capital to the firm. 

"We continue to see enormous potential in Asia, where there is superior opportunity to generate alpha and where allocations to hedge funds remain underweight. [This partnership] represents a further step in our strategy to take advantage of opportunities in the region and expand our hedge fund solutions globally," said Max Gottschalk, chief executive of Gottex Asia.

Gottex is incorporated in Guernsey but has one of the largest hedge fund teams in Asia with 21 staff. As at 30 June, the company reported $5.94 billion in total fee-earning assets worldwide.