Nettimi Is First Woman to Launch Billion-Dollar Hedge Fund (1)

Divya Nettimi started her own hedge fund Monday with more than $1 billion of commitments, making it the largest launch of a woman-led firm in the industry’s history and among the biggest of any to debut this year.

Avala Global has begun investing the majority of the cash, with the rest expected to arrive early in the first quarter, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the fund’s inception hasn’t been announced publicly. A representative for the New York-based firm declined to comment.

Nettimi, a portfolio manager who oversaw more than $4 billion ...