NEW YORK: Bobby Jain has gathered US$5.3bil in commitments for his new multi-strategy hedge fund, marking the biggest fundraising haul since ExodusPoint Capital Management’s record debut.

The firm won backing from sovereign wealth giant Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and has lined up bank wealth platforms including Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs Group Inc, UBS Group AG and HSBC Holdings Plc, according to people familiar with the matter. Jain Global will start trading July 1.

The firm also has endowments, foundations, family offices and pensions as investors.

Representatives for Jain Global, ADIA, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. HSBC didn’t reply to a request for comment.

The premiere caps a busy year for Jain - former co-chief investment officer at Millennium Management - who has travelled the world pitching his fund.

He initially aimed to gather as much as US$10bil. But after struggling to hit that goal, he cut client fees to entice investors and reduced his target to between US$5bil and US$6bil.

Even with the revised goal, Jain Global is the biggest launch since 2018.

Jain topped fellow Millennium alumnus Diego Megia, whose Taula Capital Management began trading this month with US$5bil. Megia spun out his macro pod from Millennium and received US$3bil from his former employer.

Jain has been raising money in a challenging environment, as interest rates remain elevated and private equity deals have slowed to a trickle.

New hedge funds also face stiff competition from bigger multi strategy funds with established track records.

Meanwhile, hot demand for private credit is enticing investors seeking alternative strategies, Jain said at a conference last week.

Despite those obstacles, Jain Global is starting off big - having hired 215 people, including 42 portfolio managers.

The firm has seven businesses that will go live on July 1, including an Asia-Pacific unit that will essentially act as a multi manager platform and trade six strategies, with the profits feeding into the Jain fund.

The firm raised money via a so-called drawdown fund, meaning it will tap the cash as needed over a year.

Michael Gelband’s ExodusPoint still enjoys the distinction of biggest-ever hedge fund debut.

 - Bloomberg