Tiger Management Backing New Asia-Focused Fund

Julian Robertson's Tiger Management LLC is backing startup hedge-fund Kang Global Investors LP with as much as $50 million for its launch at the start of July, according to people familiar with the arrangement.

Long considered one of the savvier long-term investors in the industry, the 81-year-old Mr. Robertson shut down his own hedge fund in 2000 and shifted to doling out his money to other managers. These selected funds now manage some $27 billion altogether.

The billionaire's reputation is such that budding hedge-fund managers are frequently willing to take tougher terms in exchange for his money, and endorsement.

In this latest deal, the new hedge fund's founder, Richard Kang, agreed to pay about 20% of his fees earned, forever, to Mr. Robertson's Tiger in what is known as a "seed deal," the people said.

Other large firms that compete with Tiger to buy into new hedge funds, including the private-equity giants Blackstone Group LP and Reservoir Capital Group LLC, often offer several hundred million dollars in exchange for fee deals that can expire in several years.

Mr. Kang, who didn't respond to a request for comment, was earlier an analyst at Tiger Asia Management LLC, a Tiger-seeded fund that grew to manage more than $5 billion at its peak, but was later rocked by insider-trading investigations in the U.S. and Asia.

In 2012, it decided to return outside cash and is now called Archegos Capital Management LLC

Kang Global is similarly expected to have a focus on Asian investments.

It will compete against other Asian-focused startups including Saferidge Capital Partners, the spinout of Asian Century Quest Capital LLC, once one of the largest hedge-fund firms focused on Asia. As The Wall Street Journal reported last week, Saferidge is expected to start in the fourth quarter, led by one of ACQ's six sector heads.

Tiger Management is run by Mr. Robertson's son, Alex, and the firm's former head trader, Gil Caffray. Mr. Robertson remains a senior adviser.

His prior seed investments include Chase Coleman's $6.5 billion Tiger Global L.P. The technology-focused Tiger Global is up 8.6% this year through the end of May, people familiar with its performance said, far outpacing the average hedge fund tracked by HFR Inc.

Mia Lamar contributed to this article.

Write to Rob Copeland at [e-mail]

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