Norwegian investor Joakim Hannisdahl has launched his new shipping fund with long-term bets on dry bulk and tankers.
The former Cleaves Asset Management executive said Gersemi Asset Management’s maritime book was opened on Wednesday, with the initial cash being deployed on Thursday and Friday.
Gersemi has 31% of its money tied up in bulkers, and 20% in tankers, with the rest in cash.
The fund has money invested in tanker owners including Frontline, Hafnia, International Seaways, DHT Holdings, Teekay Tankers and Scorpio Tankers.
On the dry side, 2020 Bulkers, Golden Ocean Group and Genco Shipping & Trading are on the list.
The fund ended the week at $1,007 per share, up $7.
Investments “will of course change over time and as the shipping cycles develop”, Hannisdahl told TradeWinds.
“We expect to increase our long oil tanker exposure going forward, but as the recent share price rally is unsupported by spot earnings and short-term market dynamics, we are pragmatic regarding our entry point,” he added.
Hannisdahl emphasised the company had always expected July to be a challenging earnings environment for tankers after Saudi Arabia announced cuts in early June, with August and September having the potential to be similar.
Positive view
“Regardless, current equity pricing is attractive given our positive view for the fourth quarter and beyond and it is thus natural to take on part exposure,” Hannisdahl added.
The boss explained he chose to postpone the inception of the fund by two business days due to the large number of investors coming in, overwhelming the fund’s administrator.
Holidays and liquidity management mean the majority of the founding investors are still in the process of finalising their contributions.
The fund will remain open for founding shares until 1 August.
Hannisdahl told TradeWinds: “We are still in the midst of getting the founding capital in, and it will likely take a few months. Only then will we have visibility on the assets under management.
“Our investors range from seasoned shipping experts, shipping investors, shipowners and operators, to family offices and high-net-worth individuals. A large and mixed pool of investors,” he added.
Last month, Gersemi recruited a ship financier from Nordic lender Nordea to help launch the fund.
Fredrik Flem will work on portfolio management for the start-up.
He came from the role of relationship manager in the Nordea shipping finance team, where he spent nearly two years.
