The funds from Boston-based Qtron will be suitable for Australian wholesale and institutional investors while Apostle will also set up its own funds which will offer access to Qtron’s products.
Founded in 2016, Qtron combines data-driven models with human insight to deliver outperformance – specialising in emerging market equities, global enhanced equities, global small cap equities and global long/short equities – and has US$1.25 billion ($1.9 billion) in assets under management.
In its investment process, Qtron said it identifies unique opportunities through diversified, idiosyncratic factor exposures at the stock level, rather than relying on broad sector or country bets.
Apostle’s managing director, Mitchell Gunman, said: “We believe there is a gap in the market for quantitative strategies, and Qtron addresses this by combining a disciplined quantitative approach with active research to ensure portfolios remain adaptive and consistently alpha seeking.”
Qtron founder and portfolio manager Dmitri Kantsyrev said: “We combine a disciplined quantitative framework with qualitative insights to make our models more adaptive and effective. As researchers, we distil intricate data to uncover patterns and translate complexity into actionable insights to enhance the core of investment decision making.”
In October, InvestorDaily covered how quant funds are experiencing a “resurgence” in demand and popularity. This is due, in part, to the highly concentrated market, with “Magnificent Seven” type entities dominating a very large portion.
Unlike fundamental managers who must decide whether to be overweight or zero on major players like Nvidia based on their preferences, quant investors have an advantage in such periods since they can more objectively determine optimal position sizes and maintain risk control.
This is the second US partnership Apostle has made in the past six months as it announced one in June with CastleKnight Management. The company was founded by chief investment officer and managing partner Aaron Weitman, a former senior partner at Appaloosa LP, which was an investment adviser primarily known for distressed debt investing and “taking bold bets” across credit and equity markets.
CastleKnight focuses on identifying mispriced securities and asymmetric risk-return opportunities by combining a macro perspective with thorough bottom-up research.
The firm targets investments influenced by catalysts such as mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, regulatory changes and other special situations. The strategy is adaptable across both equity and credit markets, with exposures adjusted based on evolving market conditions.
