Goldman Sachs is at it again, telling potential investors it aims to raise $4bn-$6bn for a new hedge fund, to be (perhaps appropriately) named the Opportunistic Multi-Disciplinary Investment Fund, as the US investment bank tries to rebuild its reputation in the hedge fund business, reports the FT on Friday. The new fund, we suppose itâs âOmdifâ for short, to be run by bank partners Raanan Agus, former head of Goldmanâs proprietary trading desk, and Kenneth Eberts, former head of the US prop desk, will be the bankâs first to focus on picking shares, taking long and short positions, with a focus on the US, rather than using computerised, or quantitative, approaches. The planned fund highlights Goldmanâs gathering push to diversify away from its reliance on quant funds, having raised $2.7bn for a credit fund called Liberty Harbor and $1.8bn for its Liquidity Partners recovery fund amid this summerâs turmoil. If the new Omdif fund approaches $6bn, it will be one of the biggest launches ever, rivalling the $6bn Convexity Capital, created last year by Jack Meyer, former head of the Harvard endowment. The fundraising goal is particularly aggressive because investors will not be able to withdraw their money from Omdif for two years, a lock-up that is likely to deter many, notes the FT. Goldmanâs standing in the hedge fund industry took a body blow in August when three of its quant funds plummeted by as much as 30 per cent in two weeks amid a rout of the quant sector. The bank stepped in with $2bn of its own money and $1bn from allies to shore up its Global Equity Opportunities fund, but declined to put new money into flagship fund Global Alpha. Both have seen big withdrawals, with Global Alpha redemptions above $1.6bn. According to marketing documents for Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, the new arm of the asset management division which will run the fund, Goldman was âlooking to grow its hedge fund platform with a particular focus on fundamental equity strategiesâ. One hedge fund investor who has seen the marketing pitch described the new fund as âa classic prop-desk spin-offâ. Goldman will create US and offshore versions of the fund, with a launch slated for January. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c077e428-99...c.html&_i_referer=http://ftalphaville.ft.com/ Multi-dicsiplinary....hum, why not Global Alpha multi-disciplinary ??]?