Joseph McAlinden, former Morgan Stanley Investment Management chief investment officer has opened Catalpa Capital, an investment management firm.

Catalpa's first fund, Global Thematic Opportunities, is a hedge fund that focuses on identifying major market discontinuities rather than analysing individual securities.

The fund implements positions through futures, exchange traded funds, and customised baskets of securities to diversify away idiosyncratic risk and isolate thematic opportunities.

Joining Catalpa are chief investment strategist Warren Hatch, former executive director from Morgan Stanley, and chief financial officer Andrew de Montille, former co-head of Lehman Brothers Hedge Fund Consulting.