A new London hedge fund firm is preparing its first offering in an effort to capitalize on current market volatility.

AlphaTran Capital said it will launch a long/short equity fund with US$50 million in seed capital from Thames River Capital. The fund, targeting 20% annual returns, will focus on large-cap stocks, with the ability to move between 40% net short and 40% net long, Reuters reports.

“Current market volatility has created a lot of investment opportunities for funds such as AlphaTran and is an ideal environment for stockpickers,” firm co-founder Damien Tran, formerly a partner at activist hedge fund shop The Children’s Investment Fund, said.

Tran’s partners are Christophe Beauvilain, formerly of Phylon, and Christophe Puyo, a veteran of Société Générale Asset Management.

The new fund will reportedly boast a US$3 billion capacity.