New York’s Magnitude Capital, founded by CEO and president Benjamin (Ben) Appen and founding partner James Hall in 2002, is not your average fund-of-funds firm. For one thing, Magnitude is among the largest firms, with $3.41 billion in assets, that is still fully independent, despite years of industry consolidation. Magnitude has also found success thanks to an investment team with impressive professional résumés primarily listing senior positions at hedge fund firms across the U.S. Appen, for example, was senior vice president at New York alternative investment manager D.E. Shaw Group from 1992 to 2000, where he built the firm’s then-$600 million fund-of-funds business. Hall was managing director and global head of UBS’s alternative asset management arm…