Former Pimco duo handed GLG EM funds

GLG Partner’s has handed Sudi Mariappa and Kumaran Damodaran control of the funds vacated by its departed co-heads of emerging markets, Citywire Global can reveal.

The London-based investment firm added former PIMCO bond manager Damodaran to its team at the start of the year but did not assign him any funds at that time.

Damodaran was reunited with former PIMCO colleague Mariappa, who joined in September 2012, when he was added to GLG Partners’ macro and fixed income desk.

The arrival of Damodaran coincided with the firm’s co-heads of emerging markets Bart Turtelboom and Karim Adel-Mootal announcing their plans to step down. This was with a view to potentially setting up their own hedge fund.

Turtelboom and Abdel-Mootal officially left the firm at the end of January and GLG has now reassigned all the funds previously under their control.

A spokesperson confirmed to Citywire Global that Mariappa and Damodaran had been handed the GLG EM Diversified Alternative and GLG EM Currency & Fixed Income Alternative funds.

Both of these absolute return strategies were formerly run by Turtelboom and Abdel-Mootal.

The GLG MENA Equity fund, which the duo had also previously run, is being run on behalf of a third party investor but still within GLG and not available to outside investors.

In addition, the spokesperson also confirmed to Citywire Global there would be no direct replacement for Turtelboom or Abdel-Mootal as the head of its emerging markets division.

‘There is no new head of EM as the way the business is approaching this area is changing,’ the spokesperson said.

New venture

The announcement of the new GLG fund manager structure comes at the same time as former employees of GLG’s parent company, Man Group, setting up their own ‘emerging manager’ fund.

Revere Capital Advisors has established the Revere Emerging Managers Founders fund, which is registered for sale in the Cayman Islands, in order to invest in early-stage hedge funds.