Ex-Goldman, Noble traders' macro hedge fund avoids Swiss franc loss, assets triple - sources

By Nishant Kumar

LONDON, Jan 22 (Reuters) - Guard Capital, a macro hedge fund firm launched by two former top traders at Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) and Noble Group, has gained 2.5 percent so far in January, sources said, steering clear of the pain some of its peers suffered after the Swiss franc soared.

Hong-Kong based Guard Capital was launched in August by Leland Lim, the former co-head of macro trading for Asia Pacific ex-Japan at Goldman Sachs, and Allan Bedwick, who was the head of macro trading in Asia for Noble Group.

Some of the world's best-known macro hedge fund managers such as the Fortress Macro Fund, COMAC Capital and Everest Capital (Other OTC: CGHC - news) were hit last week after the Swiss National Bank (SNB) removed a cap on the franc, sending the currency skyward.

The franc surged as much as 40 percent to a high of 0.85 to the euro on Thursday, at a time when more than $3.5 billion was betting on franc weakness, the largest such position in more than a year and a half, hurting a number of hedge funds.

The Guard Macro Master Fund, which gained about 10 percent last year since its August launch, managed about $88 million in September, according to a letter to investors obtained by Reuters. The fund has since then tripled its assets to about $300 million, two sources said.

E-mails to Guard Capital's spokesman Matthew Edwards remained unanswered.

Macro hedge funds focus on major economic trends and bet anywhere they see value, including stocks, currencies, bonds, commodities and derivatives markets.

As a group, these funds saw net outflows worth about $28 billion last year, data from HFR showed, compared with $76.4 billion in net inflows for the global industry. (Reporting by Nishant Kumar, editing by Sinead Cruise)