NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Palinuro Capital, a new global macro hedge fund, has received commitments of nearly $100 million and will start trading in January, its founder said, as investor appetite for hedge fund strategies is on the rise.

Macro hedge funds typically trade a wide range of assets such as bonds, currencies, and commodities based on bets on economic growth, inflation, and geopolitics.

Palinuro, managed out of Amsterdam, will target 10%-plus average annual returns for its investors, with a focus on outperforming the market in periods of high volatility, Alfonso Peccatiello, its founder and chief investment officer, told Reuters. "This is what we're there for, we are a diversifier for portfolios of investors," he said.

Investors are bullish on hedge funds for the second half of this year, according to a recent BNP Paribas survey, which showed macro strategies as the third favorite strategy for allocations, preceded by equity and credit.

"Discretionary macro is benefiting from the market effects of inflation and monetary policy surprises," said the survey.

Surging inflation led to a rapid succession of interest rate increases across developed markets in 2022 that led to lockstep declines in bonds and stocks, a blow to traditional investment strategies that rely on a mix of bonds and stocks to take the sting out of market drops.

"In years like 2022, when you think bonds should be your diversifier and all of a sudden you realise they're not ... that's when we kick in," said Peccatiello.

Palinuro Capital has received nearly $100 million in commitments from investors including family offices, endowments, pension funds, and asset managers, he said.

Starting next week, the Cayman-domiciled fund will have a three-month onboarding period before trading in January. Its prime broker will be Goldman Sachs (GS.N) , opens new tab, he said.

The fund will trade mostly futures, options, and swaps, and while it will be investing in equities and commodities too, the focus will be rates and currencies across multiple geographies.

Peccatiello is also the founder and chief executive of The Macro Compass, a global macro investment strategy firm, which came to prominence among investors by sharing macro investment research on social media channels since the beginning of 2022.

"A lot of people invest in hedge funds ... also for the value they can get from you, from being able to access you and read your research and ask you questions," said Peccatiello.

"It's not only about returns ... they see direct access to you as a big advantage."

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https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/new-global-macro-hedge-fund-palinuro-capital-start-trading-january-2024-09-23/