Private alternative investment management firm Salida Capital has announced the upcoming launch of a private equity fund focused on the natural resources space.

The fund’s official marketing period will begin in May and continue for six to eight months, or until it has hit its targeted maximum capital commitment.

“We’re extremely excited about the opportunities we see for our private equity fund,” commented Courtenay Wolfe, president and CEO of Salida Capital. “It’s an area we’ve been planning on venturing into for awhile.”

The company said it has already secured a $100-million seed investment for the fund. The anchor investment comes from Bill Gallacher, president and CEO of Avenir Capital Corp., and chairman and founder of Athabasca Oil Sands Corporation.

While Salida remains focused on managing funds investing mainly in publicly listed securities, Wolfe said the private equity fund provides access to opportunities on the private side that cannot be held in the company’s current funds.

“Many of our investors have asked for a longer term time horizon for investing, wishing to access some of the great private investment opportunities we are seeing in the natural resources space,” Wolfe said.

With the foray into private equity comes a portfolio manager change for Salida’s current funds. Brad White, portfolio manager and co-founder of Salida, will be joining the asset management team at Avenir.

“Brad’s been instrumental in Salida’s success over the past nine years, however we view this transition as a great evolution for Salida,” said Wolfe. “We believe the strategic alliance we’ll have with Brad and Bill going forward will benefit the firm and our investors.”

White is currently the portfolio manager of two funds, the Salida Multi Strategy Fund and the Global Energy Fund.

The Multi Strategy Fund will now be managed by Salida’s founder and CIO, Danny Guy, who managed the fund for the first two years of its track record, and who has continued to be the secondary manager on this fund since White took over as lead portfolio manager in late 2006.

The Global Energy Fund will be managed by Brian Trenholm. Trenholm currently manages the Wealth Preservation Fund and has 17 years of industry experience, including four years as a sell-side energy sector analyst in Calgary.

Salida’s investment team now includes six individuals, including two portfolio managers in addition to research and trading. The company recently added John Graham to the team, a research analyst focused in the mining sector, who has more than nine years of experience.

Salida also plans to add an oil and gas analyst to its investment team in the coming weeks, the company said.

IE