Key Takeaways
- • Capula Investment Management launched the Capula Alternative Markets Alpha Fund, a quantitative commodities trading strategy (CTA), targeting $2–3bn in capacity from prospective investors.
- • Yao Hua Ooi, former AQR Capital Management principal and key architect of AQR's $6.3bn Helix systematic strategy, leads the new fund following his departure from AQR last year.
- • Capula, which manages approximately $35bn in assets, is expanding its systematic trading and commodities capabilities as part of a broader strategic shift, including recent hires of energy traders and external allocations to multi-strategy managers.
- • The London-based firm recruited John Anderson, formerly global co-head of fixed income and commodities at Millennium Management, last year to develop its multi-strategy platform, signaling deepened focus on commodities and systematic strategies.
- • Capula has committed $450m to multi-strategy hedge fund Cinctive Capital Management as part of its capital allocation to external managers.
Summary
Capula Investment Management is pushing deeper into systematic trading with the launch of a quantitative commodities strategy called the Capula Alternative Markets Alpha Fund. The vehicle is a Commodity Trading Advisor (CTA) strategy being marketed to institutional investors, with Capula targeting between $2bn and $3bn in capacity according to Bloomberg reporting. The firm, which manages roughly $35bn globally, has not formally commented on the initiative.
The strategy is headed by Yao Hua Ooi, a veteran systematic trader who spent approximately two decades at AQR Capital Management before joining Capula last year. At AQR, Ooi held principal-level status and was instrumental in building and operating Helix, a $6.3bn systematic strategy that trades across multiple asset classes. His move to Capula represents a significant hire in the CTA space and signals the firm's confidence in deepening its quantitative commodities capabilities.
This launch reflects a broader organizational push into systematic and commodities strategies. Last year, Capula recruited John Anderson, formerly global co-head of fixed income and commodities at Millennium Management, to lead development of its multi-strategy platform. The firm has also expanded its trading bench by hiring two energy traders specifically to bolster its commodities presence. These moves underscore management's intent to build in-house expertise rather than rely solely on external partnerships.
Beyond the new fund, Capula has demonstrated commitment to the alternative asset class through capital deployment to external managers. The firm made a $450m investment in multi-strategy hedge fund Cinctive Capital Management, indicating a willingness to allocate capital opportunistically across the hedge fund ecosystem while building its own capabilities in-house.
The strategy is headed by Yao Hua Ooi, a veteran systematic trader who spent approximately two decades at AQR Capital Management before joining Capula last year. At AQR, Ooi held principal-level status and was instrumental in building and operating Helix, a $6.3bn systematic strategy that trades across multiple asset classes. His move to Capula represents a significant hire in the CTA space and signals the firm's confidence in deepening its quantitative commodities capabilities.
This launch reflects a broader organizational push into systematic and commodities strategies. Last year, Capula recruited John Anderson, formerly global co-head of fixed income and commodities at Millennium Management, to lead development of its multi-strategy platform. The firm has also expanded its trading bench by hiring two energy traders specifically to bolster its commodities presence. These moves underscore management's intent to build in-house expertise rather than rely solely on external partnerships.
Beyond the new fund, Capula has demonstrated commitment to the alternative asset class through capital deployment to external managers. The firm made a $450m investment in multi-strategy hedge fund Cinctive Capital Management, indicating a willingness to allocate capital opportunistically across the hedge fund ecosystem while building its own capabilities in-house.
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