Alpha Capital, Krusen Capital forge relationship

* Krusen invests with Paulson, Shaw among others

* Alpha investments include PIMCO, Franklin, Fairholme

BOSTON Aug 9 (Reuters) - Money management firms Alpha Capital Management and Krusen Capital Management have joined forces to provide their clients with more investment options.

New York-based Krusen Capital, which helps the wealthy invest with hedge funds like Paulson & Co and D.E. Shaw, will now let its clients access Atlanta-based Alpha Capital's Defensive Growth and Opportunistic Growth funds, Alpha said.

The Defensive Growth fund invests with bond investors like Bill Gross of PIMCO and Michael Hasenstab of Franklin Resources, among others, while the Opportunistic Growth fund invests with Fairholme's Bruce Berkowitz, among others.

The move comes at a time when investors are looking for more help in managing their retirement nest eggs and demand is growing for tailored options that might include hedge funds.

Krusen Capital pools the assets of investors on its LionHedge Investment platform, which helps to keep the minimum investment amounts at about $250,000, far below the $1 million to $10 million minimums that big hedge funds usually require.

Alpha Capital was founded by Brad Alford, a former director of the Duke Endowment's investment division. Krusen Capital Management was founded by Charles Krusen.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Ted Kerr)