Blackstone to anchor Jinger Zhao’s Asia quant fund with $300m

Blackstone’s absolute return platform plans to anchor z Star Research, a new Asia-focused market-neutral equity fund led by Jinger Zhao, with a $300 million commitment. Trading is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of next year once data and trading systems are operational, according to people familiar with the matter.

Zhao spent 18 years at Two Sigma, most recently leading Asia-Pacific investment strategies. She worked on market-neutral, long-only and futures strategies and has a background in computer science and software engineering.

z Star Research will use systematic, market-neutral equity models to take long and short positions across Asian markets. The fund will rely on quantitative models and automated execution to trade, seeking returns that do not depend on market direction.

Fund managers are completing data infrastructure, modelling systems and execution capabilities now. Live trading is expected to start in Q2 once those operational elements are in place.

Institutional allocators have been providing cornerstone and seed commitments to back managers with established track records. Managers with institutional credibility have been able to secure significant early capital from large asset managers and sovereign-linked investors.

Interest in market-neutral and quantitative strategies in Asia has grown as investors look for sources of return that differ from crowded U.S. equity and macro exposures. Fund formation activity has risen modestly after several years of fewer launches.

The Blackstone commitment would supply an initial capital base as Zhao moves z Star Research from setup into live trading next year.