Steven Audi andKevin Robik, who worked together at Bear Stearns in the mid-90s, have formed Balance Asset Management and are planning to launch an event-driven fund in New York with USD300 million. TheBalance Asset Fund, slated to launch Nov. 1, will employ an opportunistic and relative value approach including long/short, capital structure arbitrage, special situations and derivatives overlay, according to a Balance investor presentation. Robik and Audi declined to comment.
The portfolio is expected to be comprised of 50-85% equities and equity derivatives and 15-50% fixed income and fixed income derivatives. The exposure will be anywhere from 30% net short to 60% net long. "By integrating equity, credit and derivatives analysis into a single comprehensive investment process, Balance can outperform single- and multi-strategy funds which are inherently disadvantaged," the document says.
