FIRM OVERVIEW
HS Group is an independent, institutional investment firm providing long-term capital and strategic guidance to alternative asset management firms. Co-founded in May 2013 and based in Hong Kong, founders Michael Garrow and Johannes Kaps espouse governance principles of integrity, alignment, and fiduciary responsibility and believe investment excellence is sustained through both passionate commitment and rigorous process. The founders both spent formative years at Brown University and Morgan Stanley, followed by senior roles in Asia’s hedge fund industry at Blackstone and Goldman Sachs, respectively.
As of September 30, 2024, HS Group manages and advises approximately $1.9 billion in assets under management and commitment across two private equity structured funds; HS Group Sponsor Fund I (“Fund I”) and HS Group Sponsor Fund II (“Fund II”). The funds have made investments in portfolio companies across Asia, Europe and the US.
The firm serves a global client base comprising predominantly institutional investors, including endowments and foundations, pension plan sponsors, sovereign wealth funds and other long-term capital allocators. HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong with CE number BBQ417 for the Regulated Activity of Asset Management, and files as an Exempt Reporting Advisor with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and is licensed as a non-EU AIFM with U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.
History
HS Group was co-founded in May 2013 by Michael Garrow and Johannes Kaps. Prior to founding HS Group, CIO Michael Garrow led Blackstone’s Asian alternative fund program and invested on behalf of Blackstone Strategic Alliance Funds, based in Hong Kong and New York. CEO Johannes Kaps was previously a Managing Director at Goldman Sachs and worked in the Global Securities Services sales team for Asia Pacific in Hong Kong.
The firm focuses on providing long-term strategic seed capital to alternative asset managers, with a focus on Asia. The firm is majority employee owned, and maintains a strategic partnership with TPG Holdings. In September 2014, the firm launched its first Fund, HS Group Sponsor Fund I (“Fund I”). In June 2018, the firm launched HS Group Sponsor Fund II (“Fund II”). As of September 30, 2024, the two Funds have made investments in portfolio companies across Asia, Europe and the US.
Headquartered in Hong Kong, the firm employs 9 professionals, including the partners of the firm who are all invested personally in the firm’s Funds.
Richard Gadbois
Richard is the Chairman of the board of directors of HS Group. He is also a director and investor with select alternative asset management firms in Asia and the US, including Argyle Street Management in Hong Kong and Main Management in San Francisco.
Mr. Gadbois began his career at EF Hutton in 1980. He then opened the west coast office for the Corporate Executive Services Group at Prudential Securities in 1989. In 1994 Mr. Gadbois became a Senior Vice President with Merrill Lynch where he advised insiders at public companies in the US and Europe. He retired from Merrill in 2001 with client assets of over $3 Billion. From 2001-2006 Mr. Gadbois was President and Co-Founder of Vantis Capital Management, a long-short equity fund with offices in Los Angeles and New York. From 2010-2013 he was CEO of Roth Asset Management. During this period he co-founded GROW Partners and was a Managing Director for EAM Investors. Mr. Gadbois also served as a Senior Advisor to Oakmont Corporation, a $2.5 Billion family office for Robert Day, where he has maintained an investment relationship since 1989.
Mr. Gadbois graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a BA in Economics. He has served as Director of several public companies and charitable organizations over the last 30 years. Mr. Gadbois is also a Founder and Trustee Emeritus of Sage Hill School in Newport Beach, California.
Jonathan Garfinkel
Jonathan Garfinkel is a Partner of TPG based in San Francisco and is a member of the leadership team of TPG Rise Climate, the firm’s dedicated climate impact investing business. Mr. Garfinkel joined TPG in 1998 and through 2010 worked on the TPG Capital private equity investment team in both San Francisco and London. Thereafter, he served in numerous firm-related roles, including leadership of corporate development and compensation, and was TPG’s Co-Chief Operating Officer from January 2019 to June 2021.
Mr. Garfinkel serves or has served on the boards of Summit Carbon Solutions, Monolith, eVoltz, ProSight Specialty Insurance, 2Co Energy, Aleris International, and Midwest Air Group. He is a member of the Advisory Council of Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and the Stanford Cancer Institute, is the current Board Chair of Climb Hire, and the former Board Chair of Aspire Public Schools.
Mr. Garfinkel holds a BA in Economics from Stanford University, an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and an MA in Education from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education.
Clement Wong
Clement Wong is the Chief Financial Officer of HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited, the Chairman of the Valuation Committee and a member of the Advisory Services Committee. Mr. Wong is a Certified Public Accountant (US) and is primarily responsible for the accounting, finance, tax, and fund administration of the HS Group Sponsor Funds, HS Group Ltd., and HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited. He has extensive experience in multi-manager product development and launch implementation, legal structure and controls.
Prior to joining HS Group, Mr. Wong spent twelve years as the Chief Financial Officer & Managing Director at Arden Asset Management, an institutional fund of hedge funds asset manager based in New York. In addition to responsibility for the overall accounting, finance, tax and fund administration & reporting at Arden, Mr. Wong chaired the Valuation Committee and was a member of the Product Committee and the Compliance Committee. Previously, Mr. Wong was senior audit manager at Ernst & Young’s Global Hedge Fund Practice in New York. Mr. Wong also has experience working at other CPA firms with a primary focus on hedge funds, funds of hedge funds and private equity funds. Mr. Wong holds a BS in Management and MBA in finance from State University of New York at Buffalo and is a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA). Mr. Wong is fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English.
Anna Klavins
Anna Klavins is the Chief Operating Officer of HS Group (US) LLC, the Chairperson of the Compliance Committee, counsel to the Investment Committee and a member of the Advisory Services Committee. Ms. Klavins is admitted to the New York Bar and is responsible for the legal, compliance and business operations of HS Group companies.
Prior to joining HS Group, Ms. Klavins was a Managing Director at UBS, where she was responsible for overseeing the prime brokerage sales effort in Asia Pacific. Previously, she worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co. as a vice-President in the General Counsel’s office, where she served as in-house counsel to the global prime brokerage business (“Global Securities Services”). Ms. Klavins also has experience working at an Asia-focused hedge fund, BlackShip Capital, where she was responsible for investor relations, marketing and other business management functions.
Ms. Klavins started her career as a securities litigator at Cadwalader, Wickersham and Taft, after graduating from DePaul University College of Law. She holds an A.B. in Philosophy and English Literature from Georgetown University.
Johannes Kaps
Johannes Kaps is Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited, Branch Representative of HS Group Japan (Cayman) Branch Office, Chairman of the Advisory Services Committee, a member of the Investment Committee and a co-founder and director of HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited. Mr. Kaps is responsible for managing the business and affairs of HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited within the guidelines established by the board of directors of HS Group Ltd., of which he is a director and voting shareholder. Mr. Kaps is also responsible for the Firm’s Advisory Services, designed to help HS Group’s partnerships plan, build, run and grow institutional hedge fund businesses. Mr. Kaps has 28 years’ experience in finance, primarily based in Asia.
Prior to founding HS Group, Mr. Kaps worked in the Global Securities Services sales team for Asia Pacific at Goldman Sachs based in Hong Kong. Previously, he invested Goldman Sachs’ proprietary capital as part of the Japanese Shares Trading team. Prior to that, Mr. Kaps provided trading and alpha research to hedge funds and institutional clients focused on Japanese equities. Mr. Kaps joined Goldman Sachs in 1999 as an associate and was named Managing Director in 2008. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Kaps worked at Morgan Stanley for two years as an analyst in the investment banking division. He also worked at a private investment banking firm, Gruppo, Levey & Co., for one year as a senior analyst specializing in the consumer, industrial, media, multi-channel retail and marketing services sectors. Mr. Kaps earned a BA in International Relations and German Literature from Brown University in 1996. Mr. Kaps speaks German and Japanese.
Michael Garrow
Michael Garrow is the Chief Investment Officer and co-founder of HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited, Chairman of the Investment Committee, and co-founder and Director of the Investment Manager. Mr. Garrow is primarily responsible for the investment management activities of HS Group (Hong Kong) Limited within the guidelines established by the board of directors of the HS Group Ltd., of which he is a director and voting shareholder. Mr. Garrow has over 20 years’ experience in finance, primarily based in Asia. He has extensive experience in alternative investment fund seeding, direct co-investments, portfolio management and capital markets.
Prior to forming HS Group, Mr. Garrow led Blackstone’s Asian alternative fund program and invested on behalf of Blackstone Strategic Alliance Funds, based in Hong Kong and New York. In addition to sourcing, diligencing and monitoring seed investments, he led Blackstone’s global emerging manager program and had primary responsibility for sourcing co-investment opportunities in Asia. Previously, Mr. Garrow advised internal macro, multi-strategy and equity hedge funds for the incubation program at SAIL Advisors, a large Hong Kong-based family office, as a member of its investment team. Mr. Garrow started his career at Morgan Stanley in New York, and moved to its Global Capital Markets team in Hong Kong in 2002 as a member of its Greater China group.
Mr. Garrow graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with an Honors BA in Political Science and East Asian Studies in 2000. He speaks and reads Mandarin fluently.
Strategies:
- Pan Asia Equity Long/Short
- Pan Asia Equity Long Only
- Japan Growth-Stage Private Equity
- Japan Long Only
- Japan Equity Long/Short
Strategies:
- Asia Systematic Equity Market Neutral
- China A Systematic Equity Market Neutral
Strategies:
- Pan Asia Equity & Credit Long/Short
- Pan Asia Equity & Credit Long Only
Strategies:
- Asia ex-Japan Equity Long/Short
- Asia ex-Japan Equity Long Only
Strategies:
- China Growth Private Equity Fund I
- China Growth Private Equity Fund II
Funds with
~$1.9bn in Committed and Invested Capital
Portfolio Companies Across
US, Europe, and Asia
Total Assets Under Management
by Portfolio Companies
Contact Us
Suite 3302, Two Exchange Square
8 Connaught Place, Central, Hong Kong
Email: [email protected]
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