AILSA Capital, the hedge fund manager run by one-time Standard Life chief investment manager John Thomson, was wound up on Friday less than two years after it began operations.
Neil Smeaton and Piers Watson, who managed its Ailsa US Equity Fund, had announced in June that they were to manage a new US fund for stockbroker Collins Stewart in Edinburgh, but at that stage the future of Ailsa Capital had been unclear.
Smeaton confirmed yesterday that Ailsa had been wound up on Friday.
He did not believe Thomson, who was managing director of fund manager Stewart Ivory between leaving Standard Life and joining Ailsa, had plans to become involved full-time in another fund management post or venture.
Smeaton said Thomson had a “couple of non-executive positions” and was involved in charitable work.
“Whether or not he is going to fully retire or not, I don’t know,” said Smeaton, who believed Thomson also wanted to do some travelling.
Smeaton, who was head of US equities at Scottish Equitable (now Aegon) Asset Management before setting up Ailsa, highlighted ambitions to move back into the hedge fund arena with Collins Stewart within the next six to 12 months.
He and Watson are at the moment running the $12m ((pounds) 7.7m) Collins Stewart US Equity Focus Fund, a Dublin-based open-ended investment firm.
Smeaton had said when Ailsa was launched: “Piers, John, and I have put everything we have got into this business. It has to work.”
However, Smeaton yesterday pointed out Ailsa had began running funds only weeks after the terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001.
Although Smeaton said the Ailsa US Equity Fund had performed “a bit better than most” hedge funds over the period, he added: “Probably Piers and I could have done a better job in getting the fund to perform.”
Explaining the move to Collins Stewart, Smeaton said: “At that time, the longer(-term) prospects for Ailsa weren’t looking wonderful. It made more sense to roll the venture into Collins Stewart.”
The Ailsa US Equity Fund raised $24m but had only $13m of assets by the time of its recent liquidation – when cash was returned to investors.
Smeaton emphasised that the vast bulk of this reduction was the result of investors taking money out rather than losses sustained in stock markets.
