About us

Our company can be described with a few powerful features; Proactive, focused on customer satisfaction and with a strong emphasis on achieving measurable, stable results. We aim to contribute to the success of your financial future.

Our team of investment experts has in-depth knowledge of the financial markets and applies proven methodologies to generate returns and manage risks.

We are registered with the Dutch Financial Markets Authority (fund ID: 50032906) and affiliated with the Financial Services Complaints Institute (Kifid) with connection number 400.000499.

Team

Balazs Simon

CEO & Fund manager

b.simon@circle.fund

Balazs Simon

CEO & Fund manager

After his studies, Balazs worked for 11 years as a fund manager at various international investment companies. In that role, he has gained extensive experience in foreign exchange trading. Over the past nine years, Balazs has continued to focus on fund management and the development of its own trading systems. In 2016, Balazs successfully completed his studies as a compliance professional AML/CFT.

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From March 2017 to September 2019, Balazs led the Maltese investment fund Heritage SICAV Plc, which belongs to Audentia. From 2019 to the end of 2022, he led Heritage SICAV Plc's investment committee. Audentia is a European regulated AIFMD Fund Manager with a total assets under management of €1.4 billion.

Han Vermeulen

Advisor & Institutional sales

h.vermeulen@circle.fund

Han Vermeulen

Advisor & Institutional sales

Han Vermeulen has built up an impressive track record in the world of asset management. After studying economics and finance, Han worked for several years at the Dutch Trade Company, now ABN Amro.

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As a former Managing Director at James Capel (HSBC), Han has specialized in fund management and institutional advice. Over the past two decades, Han has used his expertise at various Dutch asset managers, including IVM Asset Management, Aberfeld Asset Management and Fintessa Asset Management.

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For several years, Han also held the position of board member of the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (Euronext). Han plays a key role as advisor to Circle Fund, focusing on fund management and the company's institutional growth.

Panayiotis Christodoulou

COO & Relationship Management

p.christodoulou@circle.fund

Panayiotis Christodoulou

COO & Relationship Management

After completing his studies in London, Panayiotis held the position of Head of Sales at regulated financial institutions for several years. As a seasoned business developer, over the past decade, he has deployed his expertise to three leading companies on various continents, always under the supervision of national and international regulators such as FCA UK, CMA and ESMA.

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His leadership ultimately culminated in the role of Head of Business Development department, where he led a team of more than 70 employees. Panayiotis' track record includes successfully placing more than €150 million in institutional and retail fund assets.

Advisory Board

Jesper Ronald Petersen

Jesper Ronald Petersen has extensive experience in corporate & investment banking, trading & markets, fintech and digital transformation. He mainly gained that experience in the 30 years that he worked at Danske Bank. During that period, he worked from global head of FX & e-trade to global head of financial institutions and deputy general manager-UK.

Today, as a non-executive director, he serves on a number of boards of directors and he is authorized by the FCA in the UK and the Danish FSA (EU). Petersen studied at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) IMD and Stanford.

Dr. Paul Netherwood

Dr. Paul Netherwood has made his mark in the world of asset management and hedge funds. He has been the founder and owner of Horizon3 Investment Management LLP since 2005. Paul started his career at AHL (now part of Man Group plc) and later moved to Nomura, where he built risk management systems.

He has a PhD in Computer Science and AI and a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from Kingston University London and is authorized by the FCA in the UK (PXN01140) and by the NFA in the US (0354204).

Nora Szeles

Nora Szeles is a board member of various fintech and crowdfunding platforms, such as the European Crowdfunding Network and the Hungarian Fintech Association. Earlier in her career, Nora worked as head of business development at various asset managers and worked as an investment director at the Aranykor pension fund.

She has a BA in International Finance from Mannheim University and she is a PhD candidate in Philosophy from Corvinus University in Budapest.

What can we offer you

We offer you professional management

Our team of investment experts has extensive experience in fund management and manages fund assets in an active, professional manner. Transactions are continuously monitored and their results are carefully analyzed to optimize algorithms and investment decisions if necessary.

We offer you detailed insight

In cooperation with our administrator, IQ EQ Financial Services B.V., we offer you our own online portal that gives you 24/7 access to your investment account. Here you'll find a detailed overview of your investment's performance and assets.

We offer you real diversification

Investing in currencies is an alternative investment option and is ideal for diversifying your portfolio, better protecting your assets during worse economic times. Alternative investments also have relatively low transaction costs compared to traditional investment instruments.

We offer you weekly liquidity

We offer you the option to enter and exit the fund weekly, and also to deposit or withdraw weekly, at no additional cost. This gives you maximum freedom and access to your capital.

We invest with you ourselves

Not only do we offer you the opportunity to participate in our investment fund, but we also actively invest in the Circle Fund strategy ourselves. As a result, our relationship manager will not only sit down with you as a representative of Circle Fund, but also as a co-participant.

We have a 10% hurdle rate

A hurdle rate (or obstacle rate) is a threshold of return that must be exceeded before we, as manager of the Circle Fund, can receive our performance fee. We use a 10% hurdle rate, which means that you do not have to pay a performance fee for the first 10% return per year.

Governance

Balazs Simon

CEO & Fund Management

b.simon@circle.fund

Balazs Simon

CEO & Fund Management

After his studies, Balazs worked for 11 years as a fund manager at various international investment companies. In 2016, Balazs successfully completed his studies as a compliance professional AML/CFT.

From March 2017 to September 2019, Balazs led the Maltese investment fund Heritage SICAV Plc, which belongs to Audentia.

Audentia is a European regulated AIFMD Fund Manager with a total assets under management of €1.4 billion.

b.simon@circle.fund

Panayiotis Christodoulou

COO & Relationship Management

p.christodoulou@circle.fund

Panayiotis Christodoulou

COO & Relationship Management

After studying in London, he worked for several years as Head of Sales at various regulated companies, where he headed the business development department and managed more than 70 employees.

In its role as business developer, Panayiotis has spent the past decade placing more than €150 million in institutional and retail funds with three companies on different continents and under the supervision of national and international organizations such as FCA UK, CMA and ESMA.

p.christodoulou@circle.fund

Advisors

Jesper Ronald Petersen

Counsellor

Jesper Ronald Petersen

Counsellor

Jesper Ronald Petersen has extensive experience in corporate & investment banking, trading & markets, fintech and digital transformation. He mainly gained that experience in the 30 years that he worked at Danske Bank. During that period, he worked from global head of FX & e-trade to global head of financial institutions and deputy general manager-UK.

Today, as a non-executive director, he serves on a number of boards of directors and he is authorized by the FCA in the UK and the Danish FSA (EU). Petersen studied at Copenhagen Business School (CBS) IMD and Stanford.

Dr. Paul Netherwood

Counsellor

Dr. Paul Netherwood

Counsellor

Dr. Paul Netherwood has made his mark in the world of asset management and hedge funds. He has been the founder and owner of Horizon3 Investment Management LLP since 2005. Paul started his career at AHL (now part of Man Group plc) and later moved to Nomura, where he built risk management systems.

He has a PhD in Computer Science and AI and a BSc (Hons) in Computer Science from Kingston University London and is authorized by the FCA in the UK (PXN01140) and by the NFA in the US (0354204).

Nora Szeles

Counselor

Nora Szeles

Counselor

Nora Szeles is a board member of various fintech and crowdfunding platforms, such as the European Crowdfunding Network and the Hungarian Fintech Association. Earlier in her career, Nora worked as head of business development at various asset managers and worked as an investment director at the Aranykor pension fund.

She has a BA in International Finance from Mannheim University and she is a PhD candidate in Philosophy from Corvinus University in Budapest.

Anthony Huntford

Counselor

Anthony Huntford

Counselor

Since 2000, Anthony Huntford has acquired a great deal of knowledge from various segments of the financial world in various positions. In recent years, he has worked, among other things, as an agent for liquidity specialist Finalto and a consultant in Crypto for GCEX.

Earlier in his career, Anthony worked as vice president of business development at State Street and at Saxo Bank's institutional desk as head of South Europe & Latin America.