A cadre of officials from Goldman Sachs has formed Citta Capital Management and is planning to launch a long/short fund that will invest in Asian equities. According to DW sister publication Alternative Investment News, the fund will be led by Nick Ricciardi, who managed equity derivatives, structuring and risk arbitrage in Japan for Goldman. Citta is planning to kick off the fund in February with around USD100 million, said Joe Wat, formerly a proprietary equity derivatives trader.
As a catalyst for its investments, the Citta Japan Fund will veer from traditional balance sheet analysis and use companies’ intellectual property, research and development data instead. The majority of the investments will be in Japan, with some exposure to Korea and Taiwan, said Wat. Eventually, the fund will expand its breadth to include China and India, he added.
Rounding out the team is Minsuk Kim and Yvonne Tse. Ricciardi, a long-time Goldman vet, has been in Asia since 1995 and is a mentor to Wat and Kim. Tse, the junior member of the team, was mentored by Wat. Their firm has offices in Hong Kong and Kyoto and is mainly pitching the fund to institutions including pensions.