Charlemagne Capital is reinventing itself by launching International Fund Arbitrage, a market-neutral hedge fund that focuses on closed-end fund arbitrage and corporate governance opportunities.

The group, whose track record goes back to 1991, specialises in unlocking shareholder value from such funds as investment trusts. The value in this sector are the discounts to underlying net asset value, explained Varda Lotan, responsible for marketing at Charlemagne Capital in London. The lead manager for the hedge fund, likely to raise $8 to $18m, is Carlos Homur.