Written by Gwyneth Roberts
Boyiatjis says a global mandate offers greater opportunities for his strategy.
Kimon Boyiatjis at Trident Capital in Cape Town is preparing to launch a global macro fund, investing in G7 stocks, bonds and currencies.
Boyiatjis has 22 years’ experience, both in South Africa and globally, including three years as a futures and options prop trader with Investec in London and a stint as head of equities and derivatives at District Securities Bank. He joined Nedcor Asset Management in Cape Town in 1996 (previously operating as Syfrets), where he headed fixed interest alternatives and dealing.
Boyiatjis was most recently a director, head of fixed interest and alternatives and portfolio manager at Absa Asset Management, opting to set up his own firm when Absa relocated its investment staff to Johannesburg. He was joined by Sidney McKinnon, also ex-Absa, and the first quickly reached R3 billion in assets under management, including sizeable long-only fixed interest mandates.
The Trident Global Opportunities Fund is expected to launch on 1 September with seed capital. It will use the same investment strategy as Trident Absolute Opportunities, a South African multi-strategy fund running since May 2006, which has had a flat year in range-bound markets and now has R120 million under management.
Boyiatjis says the global mandate represents greater opportunities for his strategy given the wider investible universe and the fact that he favours liquid stocks in a technically driven low-volatility process combined with a fundamental overlay.
“I tend to avoid mid and small caps, I get a bit claustrophobic when I can’t liquidate a position quickly,” he says. “So in South Africa I tend to trade the top 50 stocks. Looking at G7 markets, just the S&P 500 represents 500 stocks. There are a lot more ideas in a bigger market that play to my style.
“All the stocks I pick must meet my liquidity requirements and I have conservative position sizes. My single greatest strength is that I stick to these disciplines.”
Kimon’s brother Dimitri will be joining him at Trident to help with the new fund. he has 16 years’ experience in the markets, recently resigning as director of Legae Securities, and has worked previously at Royal Bank of Canada and Standard Bank, based in London, and RMB (London & Dominion). The pair have worked together previously at Syfrets Managed Assets.