When discussing elite hedge funds, New York and London usually dominate the conversation. But Anson Funds, founded and led by Moez Kassam, has brought the model of a New York hedge fund to both Toronto and Texas. With over $2 billion in assets under management and a growing influence in sectors across the economy, Anson Funds is demonstrating that hedge funds can perform well outside traditional financial centers. 

Founded in 2007 by Kassam, Anson Funds quickly earned a reputation for its focus on short-selling expertise and alternative strategies. These strategies proved prescient in 2008, setting up Anson Funds for a strong track record in classic shorts strategies, among others. The fund was built with a contrarian mindset, targeting fraudulent companies and market hype cycles with surgical precision. According to Kassam, his fascination with short-selling began in high school after being burned by a penny stock scam. That early lesson evolved into a powerful investment philosophy—one that continues to generate 15% annualized returns for Anson Funds.

Anson Funds Management’s investment team and administrative support system in Dallas were originally formed under Frigate Ventures LP and were renamed in August 2016. The Texas location brings Anson closer to the heartbeat of American retail and energy industries, two sectors in which Kassam and his team are frequently involved. 

“About 75% of our activity is in the U.S,” says Kassam. 

Anson Funds deploys a New York-style approach with a generalist, global mandate, but its structure and culture are uniquely adaptive. Rather than simply replicating the pod-style compensation structures of multi-manager hedge funds, Anson emphasizes collaboration in an open-office environment where analysts and portfolio managers collaborate in person to share insights and ideas.

Kassam comes from a unique background, where he skipped the traditional route of investment banking or large fund apprenticeships, which has also shaped Anson’s culture. He built the fund by hustling, often walking into investor meetings with little more than a tear sheet and a solid track record. That same energy drives Anson’s operations, where team members are encouraged to think independently, identify asymmetric opportunities, and work toward the firm’s market-neutral vision.

Anson has stayed agile in high-growth or hype-driven sectors like crypto, AI, and meme stocks. Whether shorting volatile plays like AMC and Hertz or underwriting promising long positions, Anson Funds has maintained its edge by staying close to both data and the emotional currents of the market.

“With $2 billion under management, we can’t be short only. We have to augment, add, differentiate, but stay true to our core,” says Kassam.

As part of this augmentation, Anson Funds launched an activism practice. Since 2023, the firm’s strategy has been led by Sagar Gupta, formerly the Senior Analyst at Legion Partners in Los Angeles. Kassam offered Gupta a chance to “run the show” with Anson’s activism division, and he has quickly delivered results. 

Gupta was Head of Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) with Legion, and he brought his expertise in this sector to Anson’s activism strategies. Since being with Anson, Gupta gained a board appointment with Five9, and removed the CEO and founder of another TMT firm, bringing a swift re-rating of its stock. Anson Funds has publicly pushed for strategic changes within other high-profile TMT companies in Texas, California, New York, and Toronto. 

No matter where they’re located, the hedge-fund model that Moez Kassam has employed at Anson Funds is proving robust and resilient.