Fundraising

Stress and distress on radar for new DE Shaw fund

The New York-based manager has raised $1bn for the latest vehicle in its Alkali series, which has gathered $2.9bn in total.

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DE Shaw, the New York-based investment firm, has raised $1 billion for its Alkali Fund V, the latest vehicle in the Alkali series.

The fund will target stressed and distressed assets, financings and special situations opportunities and has an investment horizon of up to five years.

In a statement, the firm said that $100 million had been committed by DE Shaw entities, principals and employees, while $450 million had come from external investors that had invested in at least one previous Alkali vintage.

The first fund in the Alkali series was launched in 2012 and, across the five funds raised so far, has collected $2.9 billion in capital.

Alkali V is to be overseen by co-portfolio managers Rich McKinney and Marianna Fassinotti. Based in New York, McKinney oversees the asset-backed strategies, corporate credit and convertible arbitrage investment units, while Fassinotti is a London-based managing director on the ABS team.

“The current landscape offers opportunities that align particularly well with our agile data- and technology-enabled investment approach,” said Fassinotti in the statement. “We are immensely grateful for the strong support shown by both new and repeat investors, especially given the backdrop of the past year.”

DE Shaw describes itself as a global investment and technology development firm with more than $55 billion in investment capital on 1 March 2021 in North America, Europe and Asia. The firm was founded in 1988.