A British polling and market research firm plans to use its expertise to help a new hedge fund make the right bets.

YouGov, best-known for its political polling in the U.K., has teamed up with Four Capital on the YouGov Alpha Fund, expected to launch next month. The firms are seeking up to US$50 million for the equity long/short vehicle.

YouGov will provide polling-based market research, which it believes can make for profitable insight in sectors such as banking, retail, leisure and travel. The fund will hold at least 10 different pair trades, targeting an annual return of at least 15%, net of fees.

YouGov conducts its polls on the Internet, drawing its supposedly demographically-representative sample from a pool of 150,000 British Web users.