Hirst Investment Management, an Orlando, Fla.-based alternative investment firm, is launching the Hirst MetaStrategy Ltd fund, targeting investors with a minimum investment of $100,000. The hedge fund uses what Gary Hirst, founder and chairman of Hirst Investment Management, calls a computational-intelligence model that puts about 20 major hedge fund strategies to use, including long/short, emerging markets, market neutral and merger arbitrage. This system, Hirst said, will create allocations for different investment styles and targets steady annualized returns of 18-20% a year. "I've been in alternative investments for 27 years," Hirst said. "And the most important factor in determining your investment return and risk is your choice of styles." The fund carries a 2% management fee and a 20% performance fee, he added. "We're not going to make 50% any year," Hirst said, noting his main goal for the fund is preserving capital, not trying to achieve wildly above-average returns. "If you can make 20% a year, every year, that's a good return," Hirst said.
Hirst Launches Hedge Fund
