Brazil's hedge funds break through
Named after the 19th-century Brazilian entrepreneur Ireneu Evangelista de Souza (the Baron of Mauá), Mauá Investimentos certainly has the pedigree to succeed.
Founded in January, the firm is the brainchild of Luiz Fernando Figueiredo, a former deputy governor at the central bank. He is also one of the co-founders, along with Arminio Fraga and Luis Fraga, of Gávea Investimentos, Brazil’s best-known hedge fund. The Gávea link runs deep; 10 other Gávea executives joined Figueiredo at Mauá.
Figueiredo says his decision to leave Gávea 12 months ago was as much a lifestyle choice as anything else. Gávea’s headquarters are in Rio de Janeiro but Figueiredo wanted to return to his home city of São Paulo. His split from the two Fragas is amicable – he will remain a partner at Gávea for another three years. In turn, Arminio and Luis will be partners in Mauá, also for three years.
Like Gávea, Mauá is a macro firm but whereas Gávea has one local portfolio and one that invests in global emerging markets, both of Maua’s funds (one local, the other offshore) invest solely in Brazilian instruments.
In total Mauá manages $238 million. The firm runs several different investment strategies including fixed-income arbitrage and equity arbitrage, based on both value and event-driven analysis.