Crypto hedge fund ARK36 bolsters its Cyprus investment team with new hires

ARK36 said in a statement late on Thursday it had hired Loukas Lagoudis as Executive Director and Socrates Minas as Investor Relations Manager. The two veterans are joining a growing roster of executives who quit mainstream financial services for the fledgling asset class.

Lagoudis will be tasked with expanding ARK36’s traditional and cryptocurrency investment offerings. He brings over a decade-experience with some of the biggest names in the investment sector, including HSBC Asset Management, GAM Investments, Millennium Investments and Argo Capital. His career also encompasses previous roles working on the portfolio construction of tailor-made solutions and systematic strategies.

Meanwhile, Socrates Minas will help prospective investors and existing clients make informed investment decisions as part of their desire to diversify portfolios. He will be also responsible for the firm’s onboarding process, a crucial task amid growing appetite to invest in cryptocurrencies from high net worth individuals as well as institutional investors.

The hires match with ARK36’s strategy of operating an actively managed investment fund in both traditional and crypto-assets. The Cyprus-regulated hedge fund is focused on the cryptocurrency markets, delivering a risk-adjusted exposure for retail and institutional investors.

Based in Larnaca, ARK36 is regulated as an Alternative Investment Fund by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, (CySEC). The team behind ARK36 have been active investors in cryptocurrency for more than nine years and before that in other mainstream markets. The fund’s active management style builds on the founders’ experience in privately owned crypto investment vehicles.

Announcing the new hires, ARK36 Executive Director Ulrik K.Lykke said: “Loukas and Socrates are both highly experienced individuals, and they’re each bringing unique and valuable skills to our investment team. They will play a pivotal role in ARK36’s evolution, particularly when it comes to engaging with global institutional investors, family offices and wealth management companies.”

ARK36 Executive Director Loukas Lagoudis also added: “ARK36 is an impressive business. It’s one of the fastest-growing EU regulated digital assets hedge funds available for professional and institutional investors, so it should come as no surprise that I’m looking forward to joining the team.”