Winton Capital Management, the fourth largest European hedge fund by assets under management, is planning to open a US office in the summer, according to people familiar with the matter. The move is part of a broader global expansion that could lead to the UK-based firm, which has nearly $25 billion in assets under management, opening offices in Japan and Australia.

Winton, in which Goldman Sach's Petershill fund owns a 9.9% stake, is one of the pioneers of managed futures strategies, which employ complex computer models to spot trends in global markets. The hedge fund employs nearly 300 people, many of them employing statistical research and big data techniques to sift enormous amounts of information.