Liongate Capital Management was a global investment management firm, focused on creating and managing fund of hedge fund investments for institutional and private investors. Liongate, founded in 2003 by Jeff Holland, Ben Funk and Randall Dillard, managed a range of funds of hedge funds in both commingled funds and tailored, single client portfolios. The firm, which at it peak managed over USD 3 billion with an additional USD 4 billion in assets under advisory, had a global reach with offices in London, New York, Zurich, Dubai, Malta and Mumbai. The Liongate partners sold the firm to Principal Financial Group in 2013 as the large US insurer and asset manager wanted a hedge fund research platform in order to quickly ramp up retail hedge fund distribution in the US. The firm’s flagship Liongate Multi-Strategy Fund, launched in April 2004, was a diversified fund of hedge funds that aimed to deliver a consistent annual return to investors within a targeted annualised standard deviation of 4-6%. The Liongate Commodities Fund was launched in January 2008. Randall Dillard was the lead portfolio manager of the funds and the firm's Chief Investment Officer. The firm and its people won numerous industry awards. The flagship fund was awarded Best Multi-Strategy Fund of Hedge Funds by Institutional Investor. The flagship fund was also named Best Diversified Fund of Hedge Funds by Hedgeweek. Financial News named Jeff Holland one of the top 40 Under 40 in hedge funds. Jeff Holland was named a Rising Star of Hedge Funds by Institutional Investor. Liongate Capital Management was authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Authority in the UK and was a registered investment advisor with the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US. Principal Financial Group acquired 55% of Liongate in 2013 to expand in hedge funds and meet demand for alternative investments. By the time Principal purchased Liongate, assets under management had declined from its peak of USD 3 billion to USD 1.4 billion. As investors increasingly began to favour direct allocations to hedge funds rather than investing in funds of hedge funds, investors continued to withdraw from funds of hedge funds or demand lower fees to reduce total fees. PFG transferred the firm's team, proprietary systems and offices in house to focus solely on the US retail market. Jeff Holland and Randall Dillard retired from Liongate in 2015 and PFG returned remaining assets to institutional investors and closed Liongate as a standalone business.
