Lijaro takes off with substantial capital commitment from Texas Employees Retirement System and PAAMCO Launchpad

LONDON, Feb. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Lijaro Asset Management (UK) LLP ("Lijaro") announced a strategic acceleration investment from the Employees Retirement System of Texas ("ERS") and PAAMCO Launchpad, a subsidiary of PAAMCO Prisma.

Lijaro, founded by industry veteran Mr. Stephen Irvine, is a sector-specialist long/short equity manager focused on the industrials and cyclicals sectors, with a global mandate concentrating on Europe. Mr. Irvine brings over 25 years of investing experience, most recently as Head of the London Office and Portfolio Manager for Balyasny Asset Management. Prior to his roles at Balyasny, Mr. Irvine was a Portfolio Manager at Brummer Asset Management, De Putron Fund Management, and Fortress Investment Management. Lijaro launched in June 2020 and currently runs north of USD$600 million in AUM.

"The investment with Lijaro reflects our continued commitment to building Launchpad with high caliber emerging hedge fund managers," said David T. Veal, CIO of Texas ERS.  "We are excited about this outstanding investment opportunity, which we view as the beginning of a mutually beneficial long-term relationship."

Lijaro's goal is to produce strong, alpha-driven returns with a low correlation to equity markets, generated through a portfolio of differentiated ideas focused on the industrials and cyclicals universe. "While some have termed these sectors 'old economy' in the past, we see significant changes occurring in the way that goods are manufactured and processed globally. In our opinion, these changes provide an abundance of interesting investment opportunities, with new disruptive technologies and the increasing climate change agenda both helping fuel that rate of change," noted Mr. Irvine.

"We are excited about the opportunity to invest and partner with someone as experienced as Stephen. We believe Stephen's investment acumen, along with his proven ability to build successful teams, serve as a great foundation for long-term success and contribution to the Launchpad program," said Panayiotis Lambropoulos, Portfolio Manager of Hedge Funds at ERS.

"We are excited that Lijaro has become the most recent strategic partner to ERS and PAAMCO Prisma under the Launchpad emerging manager initiative, as well as being the first manager within the program based outside of the US. Having recently passed USD600 million in AUM, we look forward to entering this next phase of our growth with these two notable institutional investor groups as long-term partners," said Stephen Irvine, Founder and CIO of Lijaro Asset Management.

"We believe that having the ability to team up with someone as accomplished, focused, and professional as Stephen was an opportunity we could not pass up. In addition to his experience, Stephen takes his role as CIO and steward of investors' capital very seriously, and in our view, he demonstrates integrity and discipline in every way that he leads his business," said Andrew Gitlin, CEO of PAAMCO Launchpad. "We believe that this is another chance for Launchpad to express its commitment to the emerging manager space and to the notion that experience and professionalism matter greatly in an increasingly competitive business," Gitlin continued.

"We are delighted to welcome the talented and experienced Lijaro team into the program and hope that it will be the beginning of a long-term partnership. We are fortunate to have a great partner in Texas ERS, and this investment provides further momentum and another exciting opportunity for Launchpad," added Eric Wolfe, CEO of PAAMCO Prisma.

Lijaro Asset Management (UK) LLP is based in London and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom. Please visit www.lijaro.com to learn more.

SOURCE PAAMCO Prisma