Key Takeaways
- • Institutional Investor's 2025 Hedge Fund Rising Stars list honors ten emerging investment leaders navigating economic uncertainty and market volatility, with five additional managers named in the second cohort following an initial May 20 announcement.
- • The 2025 rising stars cohort includes fund founders Agata Dornan (Chepstow Lane Capital), Dan McMurtrie, and Dan Rasmussen operating distinct strategies, alongside senior portfolio managers Steve Secundo (Bridgewater Associates) and Matthew Sharp (Viking Global Investors) at two of the world's largest alternative asset managers.
- • Agata Dornan launched Chepstow Lane Capital focused on European credit—a contrarian strategy—during an exceptionally challenging fundraising environment eight months after the Ukraine invasion, when institutional allocators were actively avoiding European credit exposure.
- • The honorees represent a diverse cohort of contrarian investors and entrepreneurs, ranging from those applying post-Soviet economic lessons to managers decoding market risk and rewriting hedge fund operating models for the next generation.
- • The Rising Stars will be recognized at the Allocators' Choice Awards on September 18, 2026, at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City.
Summary
Institutional Investor has unveiled its 2025 Hedge Fund Rising Stars list, identifying ten emerging investment professionals positioned to lead the hedge fund industry through current economic uncertainty and market turmoil. The announcement was split across two phases: the first five rising stars were published on May 20, with the remaining five honorees named in the subsequent announcement completing the comprehensive cohort.
The 2025 class comprises a strategically diverse group combining fund founders with senior portfolio managers at established megafunds. Three honorees—Agata Dornan, Dan McMurtrie, and Dan Rasmussen—operate their own hedge funds, each employing distinct investment strategies. Dornan founded Chepstow Lane Capital with a focus on European credit, a notably contrarian positioning that proved particularly bold given her timing: she launched the fund during one of the industry's most challenging fundraising environments, approximately eight months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when institutional investors were actively reducing or eliminating allocations to European credit exposures. The remaining two rising stars, Steve Secundo and Matthew Sharp, hold senior roles at Bridgewater Associates and Viking Global Investors, respectively—two of the world's largest and most successful alternative asset managers.
The rising stars cohort exemplifies the diversity of approaches reshaping the hedge fund industry. Beyond distinct investment strategies and operational models, the honorees bring varied expertise ranging from navigating post-Soviet economic dynamics to advanced market risk assessment and innovative fund structure redesigns. Institutional Investor emphasizes that all honorees embody contrarian investment philosophies, positioning them to guide the industry and institutional allocators through the current period of elevated uncertainty toward more stable market conditions.
The honorees will be formally recognized at the Allocators' Choice Awards ceremony scheduled for September 18, 2026, at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City, where institutional investors and fund sponsors will gather to celebrate the emerging leaders shaping the next generation of alternative asset management.
The 2025 class comprises a strategically diverse group combining fund founders with senior portfolio managers at established megafunds. Three honorees—Agata Dornan, Dan McMurtrie, and Dan Rasmussen—operate their own hedge funds, each employing distinct investment strategies. Dornan founded Chepstow Lane Capital with a focus on European credit, a notably contrarian positioning that proved particularly bold given her timing: she launched the fund during one of the industry's most challenging fundraising environments, approximately eight months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, when institutional investors were actively reducing or eliminating allocations to European credit exposures. The remaining two rising stars, Steve Secundo and Matthew Sharp, hold senior roles at Bridgewater Associates and Viking Global Investors, respectively—two of the world's largest and most successful alternative asset managers.
The rising stars cohort exemplifies the diversity of approaches reshaping the hedge fund industry. Beyond distinct investment strategies and operational models, the honorees bring varied expertise ranging from navigating post-Soviet economic dynamics to advanced market risk assessment and innovative fund structure redesigns. Institutional Investor emphasizes that all honorees embody contrarian investment philosophies, positioning them to guide the industry and institutional allocators through the current period of elevated uncertainty toward more stable market conditions.
The honorees will be formally recognized at the Allocators' Choice Awards ceremony scheduled for September 18, 2026, at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City, where institutional investors and fund sponsors will gather to celebrate the emerging leaders shaping the next generation of alternative asset management.
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