SAIL to launch up to $300 mln distressed fund in Q1

HONG KONG Jan 12 (Reuters) - SAIL Advisors, the Hong Kong-based fund of hedge funds, aims to raise $200 million to $300 million for a distressed asset fund which will likely launch in the first quarter of 2010, a top executive said on Tuesday.

"As a strategy it was not popular in 2009 as investors were still focused on liquidity but there are lots of longer-term, 2-3 year, investment opportunities out there," Vincent Duhamel, CEO of SAIL Advisors, told Reuters.

Duhamel said SAIL, which was set up by Duty Free Shoppers' co-founder Robert Miller, was already in talks with investors about raising the money.

Distressed strategies began gathering interest in late 2009 with several managers launching new funds in the hope that still-tight credit conditions will open up opportunities to buy into illiquid assets.

The fund of hedge funds, which has $2.3 billion in assets under management, oversees five funds at present as well as some managed accounts for large investors.

SAIL set up an office in New York in January 2010 to build up the firm's research capabilities in North America. Duhamel said 70 percent to 75 percent of the assets managed by SAIL are located outside of Asia while half its investors are based in Europe.

"New York is still the epicentre of the hedge fund world. With the way the business is changing, we decided we needed the capacity to source and fund managers in New York," said Duhamel.

Three former ING analysts have moved to SAIL's New York office, following the firm's mid-2009 agreement with ING's alternative asset management group to manage three of its funds. Two others are expected to join SAIL's New York office next month.

The New York-based analysts will report to the fund firm's chief investment officer, Harold Yoon, who moved to SAIL from ING in 2009.

Duhamel said the fund of hedge funds may consider the acquisition route to establish an on-the-ground presence in Europe. (Reporting by Parvathy Ullatil; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)