Apollo Capital will be the first fund to specialise in crypto-asset investments, which include digital currencies, other blockchain based assets and ICOs.

The fund intends to launch with an estimated A$30 million and will be open exclusively to wholesale clients, with a minimum buy-in of A$50,000.

Backed by an impressive team of seasoned financial experts, Apollo Capital’s investment strategy will be driven by Dominet Venture Partners founder Domenic Carosa, CEO Holger Arians and expert associate Tim Johnston, alongside Wall St finance veteran Henrik Andersson and CEO of bitcoin.com.au Rupert Hackett.

The team brings unrivalled experience across capital markets, venture capital and crypto-assets, with close to two decades of crypto experience between them, providing a competitive advantage for would-be local and international competitors.

Domenic Carosa, Non-Executive Chairman of Apollo Capital said the fund would specifically meet a gap in the Australian capital market where sophisticated investors have otherwise been unable to gain exposure to the nascent sector in a safe, well-informed way due to time or resource restraints.

“Almost everyone has heard of Bitcoin, but the space is getting larger with more than 1,000 crypto assets currently on the market and more emerging every day. For eager newcomers, investing in crypto-assets can be difficult, and risks are high despite the very attractive return potential,” he said.

“It’s clear this is an emerging new asset class which potentially presents lucrative opportunities, particularly because of the idiosyncratic risk they present to conventional portfolios (such as stocks, bonds or commodities) which is driving strong interest amongst the wholesale investor community.

“To cater to this interest, Apollo Capital is looking to launch a new vehicle to easily tap into these assets without a significant time investment, given the fast moving, highly technical nature of the space.
“The fund will leverage decades of venture, financial and crypto experience to actively manage a diversified portfolio of cryptocurrencies and crypto-assets for investors,” he said.

Apollo Capital will for the majority of the portfolio maintain a long-term investment strategy, which will primarily focus on liquid digital currencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. A smaller allocation will seek to invest in highly selective ICOs and short-term event driven opportunities, in addition to a number of broader market neutral strategies.

The fund is poised to capitalise on booming crypto markets, which have been compounding at over 300 per cent for the last 8 years, producing an average return of 2,249% since October 2009.

Henrik Andersson, Chief Investment Officer at Apollo Capital said the high potential return, of crypto-assets were one factor driving market demand, however investors should approach with caution and only look to allocate at most a small portion of the portfolio to a very high risk asset like crypto.

“The growth of this nascent asset has been rapid but still small in comparison to asset classes such as stocks, bonds or commodities. We see Bitcoin as a form of digital gold, which sits at around $10 trillion. Bitcoin alone holds a market capitalisation of around $136 billion, within the $253 billion market value of the broader crypto market.

“The crypto market is really unique, it operates in the intersection of a wide range of disciplines, ranging from cryptography and computer science, to economics, finance and venture capital. Permissionless innovation means that the field is moving at a rapid pace not seen in more traditional markets. It is a new frontier in funds management and research methodologies are still being developed for these new markets,” he said.

The fund is estimated to be fully operational in early 2018