Hedge fund Kynance Cove Capital LLP has achieved authorisation from the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), effective from 13 May 2026.
Last month, it was reported that former D. E. Shaw and HBK Capital Management portfolio managers Alina Epifantseva and Sacha Benigeri were set to launch a convertible arbitrage hedge fund with up to $500m from backers including Canadian pension manager CPP Investments in mid-2026. [1]
Epifantseva, Benigeri, and former Jefferies managing director Charles-Edouard Sellem are listed as co-founders on LinkedIn.
Epifantseva previously worked in convertible bonds at D. E. Shaw and Sculptor Capital Management. Earlier in her career, she was a junior portfolio manager at Edmond de Rothschild.
Benigeri previously worked in convertible bonds at HBK Capital Management, after earlier roles at Citi and HSBC.
Sellem is Head of Investor Relations at Kynance Cove Capital, after roles in convertible bond sales and investor relations at Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, and UBS.
The FCA register lists Epifantseva as holding the SMF1 Chief Executive and SMF27 Partner roles. Benigeri and Sellem both hold the SMF27 Partner role.
Christopher Menon holds the SMF16 Compliance Oversight, SMF17 Money Laundering Reporting Officer, and SMF27 Partner roles at Kynance Cove Capital. He is COO at the firm, after operations and risk roles at Nekton Capital, Gladstone Capital Management, Winton, and J.P. Morgan.
Other LinkedIn-listed Kynance Cove Capital team members include Akshay Anand, Head of Treasury & Portfolio Finance, who previously worked in equity finance trading at Point72 and securities lending at CIBC Capital Markets. Mark Avery is listed as Trading Assistant, after roles at Bank of America, Brevan Howard, Fortem Capital, and Jefferies.
References
[1] Fraser I., European hedge funds editor at With Intelligence, LinkedIn post, April 2026: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fraser-i-a3828b148_new-cpp-investments-investissements-rpc-share-7451912407779762176-iN0O
