…a state-of-the-art platform that combines carefully sourced, dynamic, high-potential hedge fund managers with a next-generation solution that delivers the transparency, governance, and structural risk mitigation required by investors. Within this framework, UBP utilizes its extensive hedge fund investing experience to identify, select and monitor performing managers that operate on the GFS managed account platform. Fourteen accounts have been launched and UBP plans to have thirty operating by year end.
Heavy hitters swing for the ‘hedges’ (New York Post)
Private banks must revamp to regain clients (Asian Investor)
Private banks in Asia will need to change their approach to serving the high-net-worth segment in the post-crisis era, according to fund-of-hedge-fund executives. Once a vital distribution channel for fund of hedge funds, private banks have lost the confidence of HNW individuals and are now used as a conduit to sell the banks’ own products, according to FoHF panellists at the Fund Forum Asia event in Hong Kong last week. Prior to the crisis, private bank channels had an “open architecture” for fund distribution, notes Daniel Ghirardi, Asia-Pacific chief executive for Swiss-based Syz Group. The firm’s business spans private banking, asset management and investment funds.
Aurora targets retail investors with liquid hedge fund (Financial Standard)
The need for daily liquidity is restricting retail investors from satisfying their increasing appetite for alternative investment products, according to Aurora Investment Management. The US-based hedge fund boutique said that difficult market conditions had led many investors who wouldn’t otherwise consider hedge funds, to increase their allocations. In its Aurora Horizons fund, the hedge fund manager believes it has the key to unlocking the lucrative retail market. Not available to Australian investors yet, Aurora has been in the country sounding out interest from super funds and asset consultants and so far it says the response has been positive. “It’s a multi-strategy fund of hedge funds strategy which focuses on the most liquid ideas from across our investment partners to give our clients the advantage of daily pricing,” explained Aurora partner, president and portfolio manager Scott Schweighauser.
Fraud trial hears email boast: Rams semi-final bigger than Super Bowl (Derby Telegraph)
A US businessman and former Derby County investor, who is on trial for fraud, sent e-mails to potential clients encouraging them to invest in the club. A Virginia court has heard that Jeffrey Martinovich sent e-mails promoting the exploits of the Rams. MICG Venture Strategies, a hedge fund managed by Martinovich, was one of four US backers that helped finance the Rams’ takeover in January 2008. The court was told that Martinovich, chief executive of MICG Investment Management, made positive sales pitches in e-mails regarding Derby County and a New Jersey solar panel manufacturer called EPV Solar, in which the hedge fund had an interest.
