Orthogonal Partners launches maiden vehicle

Orthogonal Partners, a venture set up by former members of the Sainsbury family office, is launching its first investment vehicle to create a globally diversified portfolio of assets.

The fund’s objective is to achieve returns of between 15% and 20% net IRR and is expected to have a size of US$200m. The fund will invest in both private equity and hedge funds.

The founding partners are Romek Pawlowicz, Ahmet Ismael and Dan Gore who were all previously part of the Sainsbury family office. Senior partner, Romek Pawlowicz has more than 22 years of investment experience across all asset classes having worked previously for the Rausing family office, CSAM, GAM and Laurentian Life. As head of listed and alternative assets at the Sainsbury family office, Pawlowicz successfully invested in managers across the investment spectrum. He also sat on the advisory and research boards of the Centre for Hedge Fund Research, London Business School.

Pawlowicz said: “This is an interesting time for investors. There is a wall of money chasing conventional asset classes. This is likely to lead to lower returns and increased risks. We believe investors need to target new areas where there are greater inefficiencies and barriers to entry. Family offices and endowments were early adopters to the now mainstream alternatives of private equity and hedge funds. They enjoyed extraordinary returns throughout the 1990s. We believe that by targeting new sources of returns, we can deliver similar first mover rewards for our investors.” By Angela Sormani.