A Wall Street veteran who has made big returns for wealthy clients by piggybacking on the strategies of well-known hedge funds is taking his novel approach to stock-picking to institutional clients.

Dixon Boardman, chief executive of $2.5bn fund of hedge funds Optima Fund Management, picks investments for his Star fund by tracking regulatory filings made by 10 big hedge fund managers about their stock holdings. He then applies their five highest-conviction trades to its own portfolio.