Appleton team resigns after IAM purchase

Hedge Funds Review understands the entire management team at London fund of hedge fund manager Appleton International Asset Management have resigned their respective positions after the firm's purchase last month by Integrated Asset Management (IAM).

The team at Appleton included Malcolm Arthur, the head of business development, fund manager Amanda McCracken and David Trail in sales. Their departures effectively leave the funds lacking managers who have long track records on them.

IAM has agreed to purchase the London-based Appleton, which will grow IAM's hedge fund assets to more than $130m. The purchase will bring under IAM's roof the Appleton Kingfisher and Condor European funds of funds products which, because of IAM's heritage in benchmark-aware structures, are expected to reduce their approach to making absolute returns regardless of index performance.

Appleton had provided fund of funds structures, as well as allocation funds based off differing investments in these funds. It is not yet clear whether IAM plans to retain the whole of the Appleton business, or just retain the assets under management in the funds.

IAM is planning launches itself in the long/short strategy in the third or fourth quarter of 2003, followed probably by a global macro fund in the first quarter of 2004.