Prominent Melbourne fund manager Alex Waislitz, who manages about $1 billion in funds for the Pratt family, is seeking to become an activist investor with a proposal to turn listed small-cap cashbox Wentworth Holdings into a listed investment vehicle.

Under the proposal, details of which are contained in a letter sent recently to the Wentworth board, Mr Waislitz’s Thorney Holdings would see Thorney take over Wentworth’s investment strategy after anchoring a capital raising of up to $50 million.