J.P. Morgan Asset Management, the asset and wealth management arm of investment bank JPMorgan Chase & Co., jumped into the hedge fund arena with a high-profile acquisition. Its landmark deal to buy a majority stake in global multistrategy firm Highbridge Capital Management for $1.3 billion in 2004 was the first of its kind. The Highbridge deal eventually culminated in a 100 percent acquisition, in June 2009. Highbridge’s assets, which totaled $7.4 billion in 2004, have nearly quadrupled to $29 billion since then. JPMAM can’t take all of the credit for Highbridge’s growth, however. In 2010, Highbridge bought a controlling stake in Brazilian investment bank Gávea Investimentos, which has one of the best and longest macro records in Brazil. The Gávea Macro fund, a global macro emerging-markets fund, is one of Brazil’s best-performing hedge funds for 2013...
