By Hedge Fund Insight staff
A year ago the database of Hedge Fund Insight contained 26 entries for staff members of York Capital Management in London. That included most but not all of the professional staff. Since then a lot has changed.
Credit Suisse announced last month it would be taking a $450m charge related to its 30% stake in York Capital. This reflects an impairment to carrying value as assets under management have declined from a peak of $26bn in 2015 to around $18bn this year. The majority of current AUM are in Private Equity and Private Debt. The minority of assets are in hedge funds, including the multi-strategy flagship hedge fund, York Capital Management LP. York Capital Management is to substantially exit from managing external assets in the hedge fund format in favour of longer duration assets.
The retreat from hedge funds for the group will not surprise investors. At the end of last year, after disappointing results, there was so much of the capital subject to redemption notices from investors that the firm imposed gates. Results this year have not improved investors’ appetite for most of York Capital’s hedge fund products. The Asian hedge fund business is a major exception.
As recently as May $500m of new capital was raised for the York Asian Opportunities Fund. The Fund, managed by regional CEO Masahiko Yamaguchi, made 30% returns last year. The $2.6bn Asian hedge fund business is to spun out of its’ parent which will retain an interest.
And Then There Were Ten
The York Capital website shows ten staff members in London today.
Beatriz Meldrum of York Capital Management
They are Nishith Shah and Bruce Thatcher in Client Advisory, seven investment professionals and Beatriz Meldrum.
A partner of a partnership in financial services operating in the UK does not have to be registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unless they are involved with the management of the partnership firm. If the person is not involved in managerial decisions, if they are a junior partners with no senior management responsibility, or are silent partners they need not register with the regulator.
There are ten staff members listed on the York Capital website as operating in London, and there are only three staff members with “senior management responsibility” sufficient to be registered with the regulator, the FCA. The three people performing Senior Management Functions under the FCA’s Senior Management Regime for York Capital Management Europe (UK) Advisors, LLP are Akbar Rafiq and Fraser Maingay and Adrian Jesuthasan.
Both Akbar Rafiq and Fraser Maingay are Partners and Portfolio Managers. Rafiq is Head of European Credit and a Co-Portfolio Manager of the York Distressed Asset strategy. Fraser Maingay is an equity specialist, Co-Portfolio Manager of the York European Opportunities, York Event-Driven UCITS and York European Focus strategies. Soon Maingay will be managing only internal assets. IMAS, the independent corporate advisory firm, tracks entities and people registered with the FCA on IMAS-insight. According to their data Rafiq and Maingay are appointed representatives of York Capital Management in Europe.
The third remaining person with “senior management responsibility” in London is Adrian Jesuthasan, UK Compliance Officer at York Capital Management. His proscribed responsibilities are SMF16 and SMF17, that is he is responsible for Compliance Oversight and he is Money Laundering Reporting Officer (MLRO).
One
The 26 of a year gone have become one. The Lonely One is Adrian Jesuthasan: the sole staff member of York Capital Management Europe (UK) Advisors, LLP, who is not a registered representative, to be registered with London’s financial regulator.
Adrian evokes further sympathy in his isolation. Although the York Capital website shows a London staff member who is a lawyer, it is not Adrian Jesuthsan. That honour goes to General Counsel Beatriz Meldrum. So poor Lonely Adrian gets more public recognition on the regulator’s website than he does on his company’s.
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