LONDON, Jan 6 (Reuters) - Hedge fund, Amia Capital, has

hired ex-PIMCO senior portfolio manager Nikolas Skouloudis to

focus on emerging markets credit in London, a source with

knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The appointment is aimed at strengthening the $1.2 billion

firm's Amia Capital Macro Fund and its multi-asset trading desk

that focuses on emerging and developed markets.

Macro hedge funds this year have seized on the dispersion

between sovereign bonds and currencies globally. This cohort of

hedge funds returned a 0.79% return on investment in 2024,

according to the HFRU Macro Index.

Amia Capital posted a 13.7% return for last year, beating

the wider group, said the source, asking not to be named because

they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.

Skouloudis will join as a portfolio manager and focus on

emerging markets credit. He was previously a senior portfolio

manager at bond fund PIMCO, where he worked for the last 12

years in emerging markets, sovereign and corporate debt.

Before PIMCO, Skouloudis worked for Morgan Stanley ( MS ), the

source said.

Amia Capital also has hired Jade Vogli as a portfolio

manager to trade sovereign bonds in developed markets, according

to the source.

She was previously a vice-president and portfolio manager

and trader covering fixed income at insurance company, Swiss Re.

Vogli spent more than five years at Swiss Re and previously

worked at QCM, the source said.

Vogli and Skouloudis did not immediately respond to a

request for comment.