Absolute Capital Management, the Palma de Mallorca-based hedge fund firm co-founded by well-known manager Florian Homm, has hired Tim Franklin as an analyst focused on pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. He joined the firm in mid-November, said Sean Ewing, co-founder and ceo. He is the first analyst hired by the firm to be focused on this sector. Franklin said he previously held a similar role at the London office of Satellite Asset Management, the New York-based firm which he left in May. A Satellite official confirmed his departure.

Ewing said the $1.2 billion firm will make another senior research hire to focus on its Absolute Activist Fund, which launched earlier this year (iialternatives.com, 6/2). This will be a new position, and reflects the firm's plans to "get more weight into the team," he said. In another initiative, it is considering acquiring boutiques focused on asset-based lending and real estate (AIN, 12/18).