Lee Robinson, the Monaco-based co-founder of Trafalgar Asset Managers, discusses crypto, Brexit and plans for Altana Wealth, his rapidly-growing firm, in the latest issue of EuroHedge.
The outspoken Australian, an industry star of the noughties, has returned to prominence with a top-performing cryptocurrency fund and several other niche products which have taken assets to about $500m.
He reveals how hard it was to raise money for Altana, which he started to manage his personal fortune, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and Madoff scandal.
“It was incredibly difficult to raise money in 2012-13. Investors were only writing tickets to big established firms,” he says. “I grossly underestimated how difficult it would be.”
Robinson left Trafalgar in 2011, a decade after co-founding the London-based manager with Theo Phanos in 2001. The firm won four EuroHedge Awards and posted strong returns through the 2008 crisis, which Robinson reflects on in the interview.
But he has no regrets and says trading cryptocurrencies has “put everything I’ve ever done in volatile markets into second place”. He also discusses his views on Brexit in a wide-ranging and personal interview.
“The EU is going to implode so getting out now is not the worst idea,” he says of the UK’s decision to leave the bloc. “I love Europe and the idea of a European Union is a great one. But not in its current construct.”
READ MORE: EuroHedge meets… Lee Robinson – the full interview
Robinson’s return: Altana founder on crypto, Brexit and more on EuroHedge.