(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian hedge fund manager SPX Capital has enlisted a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. trader to set up its new Singapore office, kicking off its expansion into Asia. 

William Bethlem, who joined SPX last year, will oversee the push, Bruno Pandolfi, a co-founder at the asset manager, said in an interview. The firm plans on opening the outpost in February, with a staff of Asia-focused researchers and traders, Pandolfi said, adding that an exact headcount hasn’t been defined yet.

It is the latest move in SPX’s years-long strategy to internationalize. Its founding partners -- Rogerio Xavier, Daniel Schneider and Pandolfi -- moved to London in 2016, and the firm also set up offices in New York and Cascais, Portugal. Foreigners already account for about a quarter of assets, which total 85 billion reais ($15.8 billion).

Created in 2010, SPX is considered one of the trailblazers in Brazil’s hedge fund industry, which more than tripled over the past decade. The fund has 250 employees and its macro hedge fund has topped all local peers year to date with a 49% return after fees.

Earlier this month, Sao Paulo-based Galapagos Capital said it’s seeking to expand its asset-management business to the US next year, planning to hire portfolio managers and research strategists to be based in Miami for a new macro fund focused on emerging markets. 

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