Brian Snyder/ReutersMark Yusko is the chief executive of Morgan Creek Capital Management.The investment firm Morgan Creek Capital Management announced on Tuesday that it had agreed to acquire the alternative funds business of Signet Capital Management.
The agreement is the latest acquisition of a so-called fund-of-funds business, a fund that invests in other funds. Signet, a fixed-income investment firm with offices in London and Lausanne, Switzerland, manages about $700 million in its alternative funds business.
Under the terms of the deal, Signet’s senior management team, including Robert Marquardt, the founder, and Serge Umansky, the chief executive, will join Morgan Creek, which is based in Chapel Hill, N.C. Mr. Marquardt and Mr. Umansky, the co-heads of investment management at Signet, will continue working with Signet clients.
The deal is expected to close this quarter.
“This agreement represents a major achievement in our overall strategy to expand our global footprint and bring on talented investment professionals to help address the increasingly complex global investment environment,” Mark W. Yusko, the chief executive of Morgan Creek, said in a statement.
The transaction comes as the fund-of-funds industry is under criticism, with investors hesitant to pay extra fees to invest in already-expensive hedge funds. Last year, the private equity giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts agreed to buy Prisma Capital Partners, an investment firm focused on hedge funds.
Morgan Creek, with investments ranging from equities and fixed income to hedge funds and venture capital, says it offers an “endowment style” of investing. Mr. Yusko is a former chief investment officer of the endowment of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.