Auda International, a $5 billion alternatives shop, is taking a series of steps to ramp up its hedge fund business. The firm has appointed George Chacko chief investment officer of Auda Hedge, and has integrated Kite Partners' products into its lineup.

Chacko joins from Kite, the hedge fund and fund-of-funds operator that he founded. Prior to setting up Kite Partners, Chacko was a managing director of pension asset management at Integrated Finance Limited.

Auda has also brought on board Karl Neumar, who worked with Chacko at Kite Partners, as a vice president. In addition, the products of Kite Partners will be integrated into Auda Hedge and managed by Chacko.

“When I joined Auda, one of my primary objectives was to better align our investment products with the evolving needs of our clients,” said CEO Ernest Boles, who joined the firm late last year from Citigroup. “George Chacko brings to our firm a highly successful, quantitative, liquidity risk-driven investment approach, which, when married with Auda’s well-established, qualitative research practice, will create the strong foundation we need to meet our clients’ investment objectives.”

In an internal move, B. Scott Reid, managing director, will assume a newly created position as global head of investor relations for Auda International’s hedge fund and private equity businesses.