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Edelweiss Group Acquires India’s Largest Hedge Fund, Ambit Alpha Fund

Ambit Alpha Fund is the largest domestic hedge fund.



Andrew Holland, Chief Executive Officer at Ambit (Photographer: Shraddha Babla/BloombergQuint)
Andrew Holland, Chief Executive Officer at Ambit (Photographer: Shraddha Babla/BloombergQuint)

The Edelweiss Group on Thursday said that it is acquiring the Ambit Alpha Fund – the largest homegrown hedge fund with assets under management of Rs 1,100 crore. The fund, so far managed by Ambit, is registered as a Category III Alternative Investment Fund.

The transition will also see the exit of Andrew Holland, chief executive officer of Ambit Investment Advisory which was running the Alpha Fund, said a person familiar with the development. Holland is scheduled to join Avendus Capital after a period of gardening leave, where he will leading the set up of a new fund, said this person.

A spokesperson for Ambit declined to comment on Holland’s exit.

This is the second deal for Edelweiss in the asset management segment this year.

In March, Edelweiss had acquired the onshore mutual fund business of JPMorgan Asset Management. That deal transferred more than Rs 7,000 crore in assets under management to Edelweiss.

“We are seeing the financial savings of Indian investors shifting from hard assets like gold and real estate to financial instruments. This movement presents exciting opportunities in the rapidly growing asset management space. Ambit Alpha Fund is one of the market leading Alternate Investment Funds in the country and allows us to consolidate our market position in this business,” said Rashesh Shah, chairman & chief executive officer of the Edelweiss Group in a press release.