Hedge Funds Review - 2008-08-12
Articles in this issue
Ermitage - August 2008
Founded in 1975 in Jersey, Ermitage Group boasts a long history in wealth management.
Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners - October 2007
For an institution with an auditable track record of hedge fund investing running back to 1991, Mustafa Jama, managing director and chief investment officer of Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, concedes the firm has not always been good at…
CARE Capital Group - August 2006
There are four funds managed by the CARE Capital Group. The two main funds are the CARE Market Neutral Fund (CMNF) and the CARE Market Neutral Sub-Trust (CMNST).
Corazon Capital - August 2008
Corazon Capital is an independent asset manager based in the Channel Islands with offices in Guernsey and Jersey, providing tailored investment solutions to private clients and institutions on a discretionary, advisory and execution-only basis.
Brevan Howard Asset Management - July 2008
Brevan Howard Asset Management (BHAM) is a hedge fund manager authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Services Authority.
M&G Episode - July 2008
The fund takes a global macro approach investing in equity, fixed income and foreign exchange in developed and emerging markets.
Orchard Fund - May 2008
Selecting and investing in well-managed companies at fair market value prices is the way to go, according to Orchard Wealth Management (OWM).
Morley G7 Fixed Income Fund (EUR) - July 2008
The G7 fund, launched in February 2003, has its shares quoted on the Irish and Channel Islands Stock Exchanges. The principal investment objective and policy of the G7 Fund is to deliver an absolute return to investors by taking long positions and short…
Argo Global Special Situations Fund - July 2008
Argo Global Special Situations Fund is a long/short emerging market debt fund principally investing in sovereign and corporate debt, bank loans, senior or secured bond issues and local currency products. It also makes opportunistic investments in special…
SilverStreet Captial - May 2007
SilverStreet Capital is looking to launch a pooled global funds of hedge funds product in summer, following on from the launch of its managed account service to institutional investors earlier in April.
Macquarie Commodity Alpha Segregated Portfolio - February 2008
Macquarie has an enviable experience in the commodities and softs markets both trading and structuring products, so it was only logical it has put this to work in a hedge fund format.
NYLIM European Equity Market Neutral Fund) - July 2008
The NYLIM European Equity Market Neutral Fund seeks to deliver absolute returns with moderate volatility and little or no correlation to the broad equity markets.
Renaissance Investment Management - April 2007
While the bread and butter of Moscow-headquartered Renaissance Investment Management’s (RIM) clientele s currently Russian high-net-worth individuals and ome domestic pension funds, the alternative products division with an eclectic range of hedge funds…
Polar Capital - February 2007
As Polar Capital heads towards an admission to London’s AIM market, its CEO Mark Kary explains its plans, and how it has kept its entrepreneurial culture despite surpassing $3bn in assets.
Gems Advisors = December 2007
This year has been a good one for Gems investors. Gems Recovery (up 33.87% year to date to 31 October) recently won the Hedge Funds Review European Hedge Funds award as the Best Performing Specialist Fund of Hedge Funds over three years. Gems Multi…
CDCapital - June 2007
London’s CDCapital, investing in pre-IPO commodities firms, draws its initials from those of its founder Carmel Daniele, but they may just as easily stand for ‘Chinese demand ‘ when it comes to finding profitable exits from trades.
Citigroup Alternative Investments - February 2007
Citigroup Alternative Investments (CAI) came close – “reasonably close,” is the way Dean Barr puts it – to buying Amaranth Advisors after the hedge fund imploded last September, losing $6 billion bad energy bets in one week.
Alpha Strategic - August 2007
Alpha Strategic offers an alternative to listing a fund on a stock exchange while allowing hedge funds to raise “permanent capital”.
AlphaGen Tenro Fund (Class A USD) - July 2008
The AlphaGen Tenro Fund employs analytical trading, Japanese long/short equity strategy. It is willing to accept a potentially significant degree of volatility in exchange for superior returns.
Brevan Howard Master Fund - July 2008
The Brevan Howard Master Fund has a predominant exposure to global fixed income and foreign exchange markets.
Alpstar - February 2008
Alpstar has launched a range of credit-related funds and products, and is branching into equity hedge fund management.
Credit Suisse - May 2007
The future for the hedge fund industry lies with the bespoke advisory business, predicts Stephen Smith, managing director of alternative investments at Credit Suisse.
Nara Capital - March 2008
Niche strategies are the way to go for small companies wishing to launch new hedge funds, according to Dominique Grandchamp, a partner in Nara Capital.
Vltava Fund - May 2008
Daniel Gladiš, the boyish looking director and lead portfolio manager of Vltava Fund, has never questioned his decision to set up in Malta.
Dalton Strategic Partnership
One could be easily mistaken for assessing hybrid long-only and long/short house Dalton Strategic Partnership (DSP) as an asset-gatherer.
New Jersey State Investment Council - March 2007
New Jersey’s pension fund, under the direction of Orin Kramer, is implementing a relatively modest allocation to hedge funds, yet even that was too much for some trustees in a fund that had never used an outside manager before.
Alpha Gen Eta Cas Fund Class A USD - July 2008
The Alpha Gen Eta Cas Fund Class A USD is an open-ended investment company incorporated in the Cayman Islands and listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. Its structure is an open-ended investment company incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
Pioneer Long/Short European Equity - July 2008
Pioneer Long/Short European Equity (PLSEE) is an alternative fund concentrating on predominately European equities.
Occo Eastern European Fund - July 2008
Charlemagne Capital manages $5.7 billion, focusing entirely on emerging markets equities. The Occo Eastern European Fund uses a long/short equity strategy with a bottom up value approach.
JB Global Rates Hedge Fund (USD) - July 2008
The JB Global Rates hedge fund follows a macro focusing on fixed income, fixed income derivatives, foreign exchange and currency markets.
Altis Master Fund ICC Global Futures Portfolio - August 2008
Altis Partners, an independent hedge fund, specialises in combining advanced proprietary technology with managed futures.
Finch Africa Fund - June 2008
Jenni Chamberlain, portfolio manager of Finch Africa Fund, spent 12 years working in African markets in a variety of investment banking and corporate advisory roles. This experience convinced her that Africa was ripe for investment.
AXA Framlington Absolute Return UK Fund - November 2007
George Luckraft, manager of AXA Framlington’s oldest hedge fund, shares his experience, some top tips.
Winton Futures Fund - July 2008
Winton was founded by David Harding in 1997. Winton’s founding principle was the belief that robust statistical research provides the richest and most reliable source of information on market behaviour
Augustus Asset Managers - March 2007
It took Tim Haywood quite some time to buy Julius Baer Investments free from the Julius Baer parent group. Now, at the group renamed Augustus Asset Managers Limted, he is casting his eye forward.
Halbis - February 2008
There has been much talk of late about the acquisition by large banks of smaller hedge fund boutiques, and just how independent the latter remain after their subsuming by the former.
Oceanic Hedge Fund - July 2008
The Oceanic Hedge Fund (OHF) invests in shipping, oil services and energy equities as well as the associated freight forward agreements and commodities.
Permal Investment Managers - August 2007
While getting the strategy and manager mix right may be the ‘visible’ end of a successful fund of hedge funds house, Permal’s Omar Kodmani explains advances, such as those in technology are also allowing the $35 billion London house to differentiate…
JB Currency Hedge Fund - June 2008
Russia’s privatisation of its energy sector is throwing up some good prospects as Adrian Owens is lead manager of the JB Global Rates Hedge Fund.
Collins Stewart Wealth Management Absolute Return Plus Fund - August 2008
The fund is a core multi-manager fund of the company and is widely used in its wealth management division.
MD Sass- September 2007
M.D. Sass in the US, for example, has been providing seed money to incubate emerging investment managers since 1985.
Pharos Gas Investment Fund - August 2008
Russia’s privatisation of its energy sector is throwing up some good prospects as well as challenges for Pharos Financial.
Channel Islands Alternatives (The Hurdle Fund) - August 2008
Nick England, founder and director of Channel Islands Alternatives (CIA) is one of the newest entrants to the FoHF world in the Channel Islands.
Odey European Inc - July 2008
Odey Asset Management was set up in 1991 with a focus on active management and a concentration on the investment result rather than adhering to any particular investment style.
Equity Insurance Group - July 2006
Equity Insurance Group chose Union Bancaire Privée for hedge funds, and JP Morgan for long-only, for its £500m mandate in May.
Cambridge Strategy Asian Alpha Currency Fund - July 2008
The fund aims to profit from short and medium term moves in the Asian market currency pairs. To achieve this, the company employs a systematic approach, designed to perform across diverse market environments. This combines two types of trading strategies.
Nevsky Fund (USA) - July 2008
The Nevsky Fund, launched on September 29, 2000, is a Cayman based open-ended investment company listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The fund, denominated in US dollars and offering a hedged euro share class, is currently closed to investors.
Trafalgar Catalyst Fund - July 2008
The Trafalgar Catalyst Fund is an event driven hedge fund focusing on strategies around corporate events such as takeovers, mergers, bond reorganisations, liquidations and other special situations.
Stanley Fink - October 2006
TAs Stanley Fink announces the forthcoming resignation of his CEO seat at Man Group in 2007, those who have seen the industry grow with him reflect on his achievements, and assess his legacy both for Man Group, and for the broader hedge fund industry.
Iceberg Alternative Real Estate II Fund - July 2008
Iceberg Alternative Real Estate Fund was Europe’s first commercial real estate hedge fund. Iceberg is a relative value absolute return fund which targets Libor +15% with a volatility of less than 10%.
Polar Capital Discovery Fund — USDS - July 2008
This fund is a discretionary macro fund that seeks to return 12% to 15% a year net of fees.
Sabre Style Arbitrage Fund - July 2008
Sabre Style Arbitrage combines statistical arbitrage with quant equity market neutral strategies. This niche methodology is designed to capture longer term returns generated by economic cycling and short-term returns attributable to investor behavioural…
Dexion Trading - July 2007
The rush to launch permanent capital vehicles has not slowed, despite the grandfather of London’s closedended, listed vehicle market replacing the manager of one of its key funds of funds due to what it saw as underperformance.
ION Asset Management - August 2007
ION Asset Management has made quite an impression managing its Israel long/short equity fund, chalking up 34.7% net in its first year to 30 June.
Wessex Natural Resource Fund - July 2008
The Wessex Natural Resources Fund builds on the key strengths of Wessex Asset Management in the resources sector. WAM co-founder Peter Chesterfield is a geologist and mining analyst by background.
Corbin Capital Partners - March 2008
If you need an example of a fund of funds manager that has a particular penchant for the foundation and endowment sector, then one need look no further than Tracy McHale Stuart, chief executive officer at Corbin Capital Partners.
Prosperity Quest Fund - July 2008
The Prosperity Quest Fund focuses on investment opportunities in Russia, with a bias towards small and medium capitalised companies.
AXA Framlington Absolute Return Gemini Worldview - May 2008
Russia’s privatisation of its energy sector is throwing up some good prospects as Framlington is what could be described as a giant boutique alternative investment manager within the AXA Group, the insurance and pension fund provider.
Pemba Credit Advisers (Man Group) - April 2007
RMF’s European leveraged finance team now goes by another name, swapping the acronymically rich Man Group divisions’ monickers for the name of an island in the Zanzibar archipelago.
Investcorp Stoneworks Global Macro Fund - July 2008
The Investcorp Stoneworks Global Macro Fund (Stoneworks) aims to achieve absolute returns through a top-down evaluation of major global themes.
Redington Partners - January 2008
Redington Partners is a pension consultancy with a difference. As its co-founders Dawid Konotey-Ahulu and Robert Gardner explain, the founders of the Londonheadquartered firm, with around $120bn liabilities under consulting, have their roots firmly in…
Resolution Cartesian UK Equity Long Short Fund (GBP) - July 2008
The Cartesian UK Equity Long Short fund is a variable bias fund targeting returns through both long and short alpha, in stocks across the broad spread of the UK market. Long positions favour companies offering premium growth which has been overlooked, or…
Odey Asset Management - July 2008
Odey Asset Management established a wealth management operation in Guernsey to provide investment services and discretionary advice to clients.
Threadneedle Investments - August 2007
Flux is a good thing if you know what to do with it. In changing markets that produce evolving opportunities, some of the hedge fund managers at Threadneedle Investments sat down in London recently, to discuss the challenges and opportunities the markets…
Stenham - February 2008
Stenham has made quite a skill out of making decisive and far-sighted decisions at the right time. Back in 1987 when long-only markets headed south, Stenham’s management decided to forego long-only completely in favour of multi-manager hedge fund…
Mediterranean Rim Fund (Valetta Fund Management) - July 2006
While Valetta Fund Management’s Mediterranean Rim Fund does not go short, VFM’s Kenneth Farrugia explained its absolute return approach is applied interestingly to countries bordering the Mediterranean’s shores.
IGS Group - October 2007
IGS Group was formally launched on 2 January 2007, after John Godden, back from his gardening leave, following his departure from HFR Asset Management, returned to the industry that he loves to create a full-service hedge fund consultancy.
Tulip Trend Fund: Progressive Capital Partners
Hedge Funds Review 2009 European Performance Awards: WINNER Hedge Fund of the Year
Dalton Investments - May 2008
Dalton Investments sees value in many places - from distressed companies in the US to the Asian markets. Its latest fund is eyeing the prospects and opportunities emerging from the subprime crisis.
Altima Global Special Situations Fund — USD - July 2008
Altima Global Special Situations (AGSS) has a global mandate and invests mainly in equities. The fund takes significant positions in undervalued companies.
Amstel Balanced Fund - May 2008
Alexander van Leyen of Amstel Capital Malta is an advocate of setting up hedge funds in Malta.
Epsilon Futures - May 2008
Mathematical and statistical models are the way to predict futures trends in the market, according to Phillippe Balthazard, head of managed futures and systematic funds at Barep Asset Management.
Halbis India Alpha Fund (USD) - July 2008
Halbis is the largest manager of Indian equities in the world, with over $10 billion Indian assets under management.
Carpe Diem Group - December 2006
The Carpe Diem Group is setting up to capture the growth of the hedge fund industry in a number of ways, not least of which is building a Swiss bank and listing on London’s AIM.
Explorer Emerging Europe Fund - July 2008
Explorer Capital, set up in October 2006, as a London based Financial Services Authority registered investment manager launched the Explorer Emerging Europe Fund on November 1, 2006.
Polar Capital Global Utilities Fund - July 2008
Polar Capital Global Utilities is an absolute return long/short global utilities sector fund using a thematic investment approach with a focus on risk management.
Amplitude Dynamic Trading Fund C Classr - July 2008
The Amplitude strategy trades highly liquid exchange-traded futures including equity indices, foreign exchange and commodities/energies.
Cornell Capital Management - September 2006
Cornell Capital Management is one of the world’s most significant PIPE investors: according to Knobias’ pipeTRAC database, Cornell ranked first among its peers in both deal value and number of deals for PIPEs in the year to May 2006.
Mariner Plus Limited (USD) - July 2008
The Mariner Plus Fund (USD) followed an equity market neutral strategy until January 2008 when it was closed and re-launched as the Mariner Fund, a distressed equity fund.
Hillside Apex Fund Segregated Portfolio (USD)
Thames River Hillside Apex Fund SPC, launched July 31, 1998, is a Cayman openended investment company listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Maple Leaf Macro Volatility Fund — USD - July 2008
Maple Leaf Macro Volatility Fund treats implied volatility as an asset class within and across four markets.
AltEdge Diversified Fund SPC Balanced Shares - May 2008
Altedge Capital’s senior management has a mixture of both hands-on trading experience and contacts at prop trading desks. This combination is what founder and CEO Chris Goekjian believes sets the company apart.
Man AHL Alpha - July 2008
This product is designed to offer institutional investors absolute capital growth potential over the medium-term while restricting the associated risk. Using a technical approach and a range of investment time frames, the fund seeks to capitalise…
Polo Fund - November 2006
Polo Fund is a Latin America event-driven fund. The philosophy of the fund is to provide exposure to specific risk, and not market risk, via Latin equities.
Caliburn Capital - January 2007
Caliburn Capital’s has a top-down focus on its institutional FoHF products, pursuing themes and those managers it deems most likely to exploit them successfully,
Ecofin Special Situations Utilities Fund - July 2008
The Ecofin Special Situation Utilities Fund combines two complementary strategies, investing in special situation opportunities and an active long/short strategy.
SVM Saltire Fund (EUR) - July 2008
SVM Saltire is an absolute return fund focused on generating alpha from long and short positions in UK mid and small cap stocks within a risk structure.
Meditor European Hedge Fund - July 2008
Meditor was established in 1998, by a founding team of three portfolio managers who previously held the leading long term position in the European equities mutual fund performance tables. Since then the group has grown to number 30 employees, including…
Ecofin - July 2008
Ecofin specialises in the global utility and infrastructure sectors providing discretionary fund management services and advice to institutions and corporations with an interest in utilities and infrastructure industries.
Cartesian Capital - July 2007
Scotland’s Cartesian Capital has turned in a healthy first year with its UK long/short hedge fund.
Harris Alternatives - July 2007
There is a thriving fund-of-hedge-funds culture in Chicago, according to Scott Schweighauser, partner and chief investment officer of Harris Alternatives, a fund of hedge funds manager with approximately $11bn under management.
Coriolis CaTpricorn -- July 2008
This fund invests in natural catastrophe bonds and options related to hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes and other natural catastrophes. It is diversified geographically. It employs a stringent risk management process to limit the exposures per region and…
Hexam Capital - May 2007
Managers at boutique Hexam Capital have vowed Hexam will not have more than six partners, will cap assets at $3bn, and abide by process.
BlackRock Natural Resources Hedge Fund - July 2008
The BlackRock Natural Resources Hedge Fund maintains a flexible investment style and seeks to identify and exploit anomalies and investment opportunities across the natural resources sector, including the production of minerals, metals, oil, gas, energy…
Solent Capital Partners - February 2007
The structured credit area is again attracting the interest of investors, after many spurned the industry after the chastening experience of May 2005.
Third Wave - March 2008
When Robert Birnbaum and Laurence Smith formed their hedge fund, they had a hard time deciding what to name it.
Dexion Trading - April 2008
Dexion Trading was originally launched in November 2004 following the success of Dexion Capital’s previous listed fund of hedge funds, Dexion Absolute Limited and Dexion Equity Alternative.
Carrousel Capital - March 2007
Investment trust shareholders may once have been told to take the good of liquidity with the bad of wide discounts to net asset value. London arbitrageur Carrousel Capital takes a different view.
The Argo Fund - July 2008
The Argo Fund is a long/short emerging market debt fund that principally invests in sovereign and corporate bonds in both hard and local currencies. It makes opportunistic investments in special situations and distressed debt.
Fitzwilliam Commodity Plus Fund - July 2008
BDO Stoy Hayward Investment Management believes it has a forward-thinking approach. This is displayed in its compelling macro and micro case for allocating to commodities via a diversified fund of hedge fund (FoHF) format.
Merrill Lynch - September 2006
Merrill Lynch’s prime brokerage offering has been busy rolling out new products – and team members – in 2006.Innovation and adaptation have been at the heart of the Merrill Lynch meritocracy for quite some time.
Highway Insurance pension fund - May 2006
Most hedge funds are delighted to announce 5%-10% pension allocations. Schroders, on the other hand, won Highway Insurance’s full pension pot.
Marco Polo Pure Asset Management - August 2008
Until the end of 2003, the domestic equity market in China was completely closed to foreign investment, according to Aaron Boesky, CEO of Marco Polo Pure Asset Management.
Libra Europe Fund - May 2006
The Libra Europe Fund was launched in 2001. Founding partner Bruce Mee began Eton Park and other hedge funds have backed Paternoster in what is becoming a highly competitive UK pension buy-out marketplace.
Lionhart Aurora Fund SPC - July 2008
Lionhart Aurora Fund SPC Ltd contains two funds open to investment and these funds can take highly concentrated positions.
Frontier Capital Management - February 2008
Frontier Capital Management’s Michael Azlen is not just a self-confessed alpha sceptic, he is also a sceptic armed with a plethora of statistics to support his stance on why the majority of managers in traditional asset classes do not provide alpha and…
FRM Credit Alpha - December 2007
FRM launched into the permanent capital sphere with an in-house product, FRM Credit Alpha, in April, a month which may to some sound a somewhat ominous time to have raised capital for a credit strategy.
GAM Frontier Opportunities Equity Hedge (USD) - July 2008
GAM Frontier Opportunities Equity Hedge aims to deliver capital appreciation by investing in companies listed in the frontier emerging markets or those with significant exposures to the frontier economies. The fund invests primarily (80%-100%) in the…
City Capital Corporation - April 2007
3C has an interesting range of funds and is launching into another based on options and futures trading, so bringing its investors returns from private equity through to a Japanese product focused on the China growth story.
Libra Europe Fund - April 2008
The Libra Europe Fund was launched in 2001. Founding partner Bruce Mee began the fund with his business partner Roberto Bogon.
Lehman Brothers - January 2008
Gunner Burkhart does not hesitate when asked what a hedge fund should look for when faced with a potentially confusing array of prime brokers, all trying to differentiate themselves.
Aspect Capital - November 2006
Aspect Capital has been enjoying the fruits of its founders’ foresight back in 1997 when, as Anthony Todd, chief executive officer explains, those who started the London-based equities and managed futures house saw “the beginnings of significant interest…
RP Explorer Fund - July 2008
The RP Explorer Fund is a multi-product, multi-asset class, emerging markets fund investing in private, pre-IPO opportunities in the EEMEA region.
MPC Investors - June 2007
London’s MPC Investors is looking at taking in at least an extra $600 million for its latest European fund launch and is setting itself up as a direct destination for institutional allocators.
Copernico Latin American Strategic Fund - October 2006
Copernico is among South America’s better-known hedge funds.
Global Maritime Investments - September 2007
M2M has made quite a splash in its first year with its Global Maritime Investments shipping hedge fund, making 31% and raising $111m in barely 10 months.
HSBC Republic’s GH Fund - June 2006
GH Fund’s managers and investors have not suffered from the law of diminishing returns as HSBC Republic’s GH Fund has grown to $1.3 billion.
Wyoming State - June 2006
Wyoming’s state treasurer begins searching for absolute return funds she offers some helpful advice on how to speak to uninitiated institutional investors.
The Children’s Investment Master Fund - July 2008
The Children’s Investment Master Fund is a long-biased, value, opportunistic fund that looks for businesses in three situations: under-researched and undervalued; those waiting for a catalystan event to happen or those where there is a belief activism…
EnTrust Capital - May 2007
ENtrust Capital’s equities fund has been turning a profit for over eight years by sticking to what it knows best.
Financial Risk Management - December 2007
Financial Risk Management’s Blaine Tomlinson has been ahead of the curve in hedge funds for almost as long as the curve itself has existed.
Ermitage - September 2007
Jersey’s Ermitage has made a name for itself investing in leading managers, finding and mixing them to avoid the worst of market downturns goes far further than a good contact book.
Kilkenny Capital Management - December 2006
Kilkenny Capital Management has been making healthy returns out of the biotechnology sector for more than a decade.
