04/01/2012 Author: Elana Margulies

BREAKING NEWS: Whitebox set to open second mutual fund to external shareholders

Whitebox Advisors, a Minneapolis-based institutional asset management firm with over $2bn in assets under management, plans to open its second mutual fund, Whitebox Enhanced Convertible Fund (WBNAX) to external shareholders this quarter after debuting its first one, Whitebox Tactical Opportunities Fund (WBMAX) at the end of last year, HFMWeek has learned.

The offerings, which were incubated the past month, both aim to identify mispricings in the marketplace and attempt to exploit them.

WBMAX is opportunistic-focused with a several hundred million dollar target while WBNAX looks at the convertibles space and is capacity-constrained at $200m.

Whitebox’s debut of mutual funds marks the continued convergence between the alternative and traditional investment asset classes. HFMWeek previously reported that Connecticut-based Matarin Capital Management in Connecticut last year rolled out two hedge funds alongside a long-only offering.  

“There is a market demand for registered mutual fund products,” said Mark Strefling, president of Whitebox Mutual Funds. “But in addition, more fundamentally, the mutual funds provide access to alternative investment talent to high-net worth investors who would not be suitable for traditional hedge fund structures.”

The mutual funds are being managed by Whitebox's invesment team.