There aren't many emerging hedge fund managers with a background as extensive as John Ricciardi's, who has 27 years of investment management experience, including a stint as head of global asset management at Alliance Capital in London. However, Ricciardi's track record pales in comparison to that of his fund's backers -- the Guinness family, after all, started their family brewing business back in 1759.

With a stake from Iveagh -- the investment management arm of the Guinness family that oversees $700 million in family and fund-of-hedge-funds assets -- the RPHM Global Macro Fund boasts a stature that belies its relatively modest $23 million in assets under management. In turn, the fund provides more than just a vehicle for parking Iveagh's funds; with Ricciardi's global macro strategic perspective, RPHM forms the foundation of Iveagh's broader investment strategy.

As part of RPHM's strategy, Ricciardi lays out a three-month global macroeconomic view each month. "Iveagh can then use the information to apply to its own allocations, to the other managers within the group and to its wealth management platform in general," Ricciardi says.

That is an important benefit for Iveagh, given that the firm is dramatically expanding its wealth management operations. A joint venture between the Guinness family and the fund-of-funds specialist Arundel Partners, the firm recently changed its name from Arundel Iveagh to simply Iveagh to underline its focus on providing bespoke wealth management solutions to high-net-worth investors and families, according to Marie-Laure Humbert, head of client relations at Iveagh.

According to Ricciardi, Iveagh provides RPHM with technology (in conjunction with the fund's prime broker, Morgan Stanley) and operations and marketing support, allowing Ricciardi in his role as chief investment officer and portfolio manager Justin Knight to focus on running the fund. "Rather than hire operations officers and a CEO and marketing executives, we're simply giving up a share of the revenues to Iveagh to use their personnel," explains Ricciardi.

RPHM's strategy involves "applying the market calls that have been generated by a systematic macro approach to equities, bonds, currencies and commodities," Ricciardi continues. "It's an approach that was developed specifically for tactical asset allocation calls, looking to protect or enhance returns over a quarterly period, which was developed over the past 25 years and used at several of my previous firms," he adds, referring not only to Alliance, but also to Cursitor Management, a global asset allocator that he cofounded, and Bullrun, a provider of quantitative analytical tools.