London, United Kingdom, November 2020 -- Aaro Capital are delighted to announce three Senior additions to their expert team. This team, which combines the strengths of younger investment practitioners with highly experienced industry professionals, is focused on the Aaro DLT Multifund, which launched on May 1. An industry first, this institutional quality fund of funds aims to capture the fast growing investment opportunities in DLT/ Blockchain-related Technologies and Cryptoassets (including cryptocurrencies and tokens).

Joining Aaro’s Advisory Board are Peter Rigg - formerly Global Head of HSBC Alternative Investment Group and CEO of HSBC Alternative Investments Ltd. - and Mattia Rattaggi - Former Head of Regulatory Affairs and Governance Reporting at UBS, Co-founder of SEBA Bank, and leading Digital Advisor at Crypto Valley.

Joining as Aaro’s Global Head of Sales is Jameel Tawasin - former CEO of New Dynamic Ltd, Managing Director at Revere Capital Advisors and Director of Sales, South East Asia at Man Group.

Peter, Mattia and Jameel join Aaro at a time of uncertainty across markets and all established asset classes, with some of the most compelling investment opportunities now emerging in an exciting new asset class, DLT/ Blockchain-related Technologies and Cryptoassets.

“Investors are looking for alternatives that offer high return potential plus diversification benefits”, says Peter Rigg. “Some of the most exciting prospects are in DLT/ Blockchain-related Technologies and Cryptoassets. Aaro is well placed to exploit them.”

Mattia Rattaggi concurs. “This is an exciting time to be investing in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and Cryptoassets. Aaro’s institutional quality approach is well positioned to take advantage of this fast evolving and uncorrelated new asset class.”

Jameel Tawasin continues, “It is like hedge funds in the early days. We share Aaro’s belief that the best way to capture the exciting investment potential of DLT and Cryptoassets is through a well-diversified and professionally managed fund of funds.”

Please see the Background Notes and more detailed biographies of the new joiners below.

Background Notes

The Aaro DLT Multifund launched on May 1, 2020. An industry first, this institutional quality fund of funds seeks to exploit the exciting investment opportunities in DLT / Blockchain-related Technologies and Cryptoassets.

The goal is to offer broad exposure to the long term growth of DLT and Cryptoassets, whilst protecting against the markets’ short term volatility. This will be achieved by investing across a range of funds with different investment strategies; an approach that provides a strong source of diversification in these fast-moving markets.

Aaro Capital’s Chief Executive, Peter Habermacher, points out, “Having invested our own money successfully in Cryptoassets, we also recognised the emerging opportunities in Blockchain-related technologies. Our research showed that the best way to capture these opportunities is through a professionally run fund of funds. None seemed available, so we applied industry best practice to build our own process, with adaptations to suit the DLT / Blockchain and Cryptoasset space.”

There are great opportunities in both areas: 

DLT / Blockchain: Across multiple sectors, like Finance, Logistics and Healthcare, both incumbents and disruptors are investing heavily in numerous emerging applications. According to Gartner Research, the Blockchain industry will deliver more than $3 trillion in value by 2030.¹ McKinsey has identified more than 80 powerful use cases across a dozen major industries.² This is a powerful growth story and a compelling long term strategic opportunity.

The Aaro DLT Multifund exploits these exciting developments by using economic analysis to identify the industries and companies whose deployment of DLT / Blockchain will create real value. Aaro identifies the funds, often with a fundamental focus, that are best placed to exploit the investment opportunities that will arise.

“Financial institutions and corporations in many different industries, plus governments, are investing in this novel technology at an increasingly fast pace. In 2019, $13 billion was invested in Blockchain projects³ and this is just the beginning” says Johannes Gugl, one of Aaro Capital’s Partners. “We believe that investment into DLT / Blockchain technologies and applications will continue to grow rapidly.”

Cryptoassets: Fidelity found that half of institutional investors now view Cryptoassets as having a place in their portfolios.⁴ There is great short term return potential, so long as the volatility and manager due diligence are approached properly. Cryptoassets are largely uncorrelated with other asset classes⁵, which makes them a powerful diversification tool.

The market is evolving fast, with a growing number of institutional players, such as Brevan Howard⁶ and Renaissance Technologies⁷ entering the space. More than 500 funds are already active, more than 160 with AuM over $50m.⁸ The Aaro DLT Multifund aims to capture the opportunities through funds following investment strategies including fundamental long-short, market neutral, quantitative arbitrage and trend following, each aiming to exploit short to medium term market inefficiencies, as well as the long term growth story.

Aaro Capital’s Chief Investment Officer, Ankush Jain observes, “This is still a young industry whose development is comparable to the early years of the Internet and there will be some big winners. Our aim is to identify and invest in these opportunities in a considered, prudent and risk-controlled manner. This is a remarkable opportunity for investors to participate in this exciting growth story.” 

Aaro Capital’s London-based team combines younger investors, such as CEO, Peter Habermacher and CIO, Ankush Jain with their direct experience of Crypto investments, with senior practitioners from the hedge fund industry such as Peter Rigg, former Global Head of HSBC Alternative Investment Group and CEO of HSBC Alternative Investments Ltd., and Mattia Rattaggi, former Head of Regulatory Affairs and Governance Reporting at UBS, Co-founder of SEBA Bank, and leading Digital Advisor at Crypto Valley. The firm also employs DLT / Blockchain experts as well as academic advisors from top UK universities.

The Aaro DLT Multifund’s approach is based on a unique process which was developed with a major institutional consultant. The process is based on well established methods, with customised adaptations for the analysis of DLT / Blockchain and Cryptoasset funds. Given the evolving nature of the industry and its structures, there is a deliberate emphasis on operational as well as investment due diligence.

Biographies

Peter Rigg, CFA

Advisory Board

• Previously Global Head of HSBC Alternative Investment Group, responsible for $30 billion of institutional and high net worth capital
• Over 25 years of experience in Fund of Hedge Funds
• Partner and Board Member of Crossbow Partners AG
• BA (Hons) and MA degrees from the University of Oxford

Peter consults to clients with over $1 billion invested in alternative assets; he is also a Partner and Board Member of Crossbow Partners AG, a Swiss investment advisory firm. Previously, he was at HSBC for over 20 years, the last eight of which he was responsible globally for HSBC’s 100-person alternative investment group, which had $30 billion invested for institutional and high net worth clients around the world. The business was known for its range of innovative client products and solutions in hedge funds, private equity and real estate. Prior to heading up the business, Peter was Global Head of Hedge Fund Research from 2004 to 2007, based in New York. From 1999 to 2004, Peter was portfolio manager of HSBC’s fund of hedge fund range. He is a CFA charterholder and received BA (Hons) and MA degrees from the University of Oxford.

 
Mattia Rattaggi

Advisory Board

• Former Head of Regulatory Affairs and Governance Reporting at UBS
• Co-founder of SEBA Bank AG, Board member of the Crypto Valley Association, Advisory Board member of Thaler Real Estate Consulting and Chairman of FiCAS AG
• Over 25 years of experience in the financial industry
• Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Fribourg

A seasoned investment professional with over 25 years of experience in senior management roles in the financial industry, Mattia brings a wealth of experience in finance and crypto finance corporate strategy and development. He is Founder and Managing Partner of METI Advisory AG, Co-founder of SEBA Bank AG, the first regulated universal crypto bank, Board member for the Crypto Valley Association, Advisory Board member of Thaler Real Estate Consulting AG, and Lead Advisor and Chairman of FiCAS AG. Prior to his current board positions, Mattia worked in senior risk, compliance, audit, treasury, regulatory, and governance positions at some of Europe’s top financial institutions, including UBS AG. He holds a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Fribourg and was a researcher at the University of Cambridge. 

Jameel Tawasin

Global Head of Sales

• 20 years of experience in the hedge fund industry in senior sales and management roles
• Previously CEO of New Dynamic Ltd, Managing Director at Revere Capital Advisors and Director of Sales, South East Asia at Man Group
• Also held senior positions at JP Morgan and Prudential,servicing UK HNW clients and institutional clients globally

Jameel is the Global Head of Sales at Aaro Capital, responsible for distribution and institutional client relationships. He has 20 years of sales experience in the hedge fund industry having successfully raised substantial assets for a range of alternative strategies and developed a global distribution and institutional network. He was formerly the CEO for New Dynamic Ltd, working with institutional clients globally in the alternatives sector, specialising in hedge funds. Prior to this he was Managing Director for Asia at Revere Capital Advisors and previously Director of Sales, South East Asia for Man Group, where he established their South East Asian distribution and institutional network. He has also held senior positions at JP Morgan and Prudential. Jameel holds various financial qualifications and certifications in the financial industry.

Press Inquiries

FAO: Stuart MacDonald
Email: press.relations@aaro.capital
Telephone: +44 (0) 7943 204427
Website: www.aaro.capital

Notes to Editors

About Aaro Capital

Aaro Capital is a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and Cryptoasset Specialist which was established in 2018. Our aim is to inform professional and institutional investors on how best to access the exciting and rapidly evolving DLT and Cryptoasset growth story. We are working closely with established investment industry partners, as well as DLT specialists and economic professors from top UK universities. Our experienced team combines thorough economic and empirical analysis with established investment industry practices, to identify best-in-class active managers who prioritise effective downside risk protection.

Please note that Aaro Capital should not be referred to as the Investment Manager of the Aaro DLT Multifund. Please refer to the relevant disclaimer at the bottom of the background notes.

Intended Audience

• Professional Clients (as defined in Annex II of the MiFID II Directive (2014/65/EU)
• Individuals residing in the UK or Germany

Footnotes

¹ Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2019-07-03-gartner-predicts-90--of-current-enterprise-blockchain

² Source: https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/mckinsey-digital/our-insights/blockchain-beyond-the-hype-what-is-the-strategic-business-value

³ Source: https://www.inwara.com/

⁴ Source: https://www.fidelity.com/bin-public/060_www_fidelity_com/documents/press-release/institutional-investments-in-digital-assets-050219.pdf

⁵ This is illustrated by a comparison between the MVIS Digital Assets 100 Index for Cryptocurrencies, and a series of ETFs. From Jan-18 to end Mar-20, the correlations were as follows: Equities (Vanguard Global Stock Index Fund ETF) 0.09; Bonds (iShares Global Corporate Bond UCITS ETF) 0.13; Commodities (S&P GSCI Commodity Index ETF) 0.10, Real Estate (iShares Global REIT ETF) 0.07, US dollar (US Nominal Dollar Broad Index) -0.07.
Even during Mar-20, the 1m correlations were as follows: Equities 0.36, Bonds 0.49, Commodities 0.52, Real Estate 0.36, US dollar -0.32.

⁶ Source: https://www.ft.com/content/733e9b6c-ca68-11e9-af46-b09e8bfe60c0

⁷ Source: https://www.coindesk.com/long-bitcoin-it-aint-crypto-traders-make-sense-of-renaissance-filing

⁸ Source: https://cryptofundresearch.com/cryptocurrency-funds-overview-infographic/

Disclaimer

The Aaro Distributed Ledger Technology Multifund (“Aaro DLT Multifund”, “Multifund”, “Fund”) is a regulated Malta-domiciled Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) on the AK Jensen fund platform, offering quarterly liquidity with 90 days’ notice. The Fund is intended for Professional Clients (as defined in Annex II of the MiFID II Directive (2014/65/EU)). Aaro Capital is the trading name of Aaro Capital Limited (“Aaro”), a private limited company, registered in England and Wales with number 11419585, whose registered office is at 62 Wilson Street, London, United Kingdom, EC2A 2BU. Aaro is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA"). Ankush Jain and Peter Habermacher of Aaro Capital Limited are appointed by the Investment Manager to perform the day to day portfolio management of the Aaro DLT Multifund under the authority, and on behalf, of the Investment Manager. Any information contained in this document relating to the Aaro DLT Multifund  has been approved by the fund’s Investment Manager, AK Jensen Investment Management Limited https://www.akj.com/  (“Investment Manager”), a firm authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority with FRN 622484. Cryptoassets are at a developmental stage with variation in its regulation across different jurisdictions. Anyone considering investing into these types of assets should be cautious and take appropriate advice in relation to the risks associated with these assets including (without limitation) volatility, total capital loss, and lack of regulation over certain market participants. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. This communication is being provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and is not an offer or solicitation for investment.