Editor's view: 29 July 2010
Like Paris in the spring, the lure of the Ucits space is proving a heady experience for many managers. First Europe fell for the charms of these onshore products, now the Americans are joining in a communal swoon.
27/01/2010
Wisconsin University fund seeks market neutral FoHF
The $350m Trust Funds, managed by the University of Wisconsin System, is looking to add a new absolute return manager to its portfolio.
"We are looking for a manager that is as close as we can get to a market neutral, very low-to-zero beta fund. Most probably a fund of hedge funds (FoHFs)," said Doug Hoerr, director of finance for the Trust Funds.
The Trust Funds, the endowments for the university, have a hedge fund target of 10% to 15%, however, so far it has only invested 8.5%. Hoerr stated, "currently the only exposure we have to hedge funds is through GMO's multi-strategy FoHF."
GMO manages a 26.9% GTAA allocation, as well as managing emerging markets equity and opportunistic mandates for the university. According to the Q3 report for the university, hedge funds made up 31.5% of the GTAA strategy (see graph).
While there is no specific mandate for the new search, Hoerr estimates the total investment will be around 25m, and will most likely to go to one manager.
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Comment: Amy B Hirsch
"It is imperative that investors of all types ensure they understand the relationship between the introducing party and the manager"
Investors sit tight on impaired assets
Playing the ‘what if’ game can be fun but, depending on the number of variables in question, it can get a little out of control. Apply this conceit to the hedge fund sector's performance during the financial crisis and the possible permutations become legion.
Hedge fund inflows in Q2
Hedge inflows have slowed as volatile markets made sitting on the sidelines the safest option in Q2. According to figures from HFR, the quarter’s $9.5bn - a 30% drop from Q1’s $14bn – reflected the 'wait and see' policy of many investors as the HFRI Fund Weighted Composite dropped -2.5%. With nerves setting in, recent predictions of a boom of interest in the alpha potential of smaller managers also fell flat, with the lion’s share of money going to large $5bn-plus managers.
Read MoreFunds of hedge funds fall out of favour
A growing number of institutional investors are now opting to invest directly into hedge funds instead of allocating to the space via funds of hedge funds.
Read More
22/09/2010
UK: Ucits IV
This month’s HFMWeek Subscriber Club breakfast will take place on Wednesday 22 September. Join us and…
30/09/2010
US: topic to be confirmed
The next HFMWeek Subscriber Club breakfast will take place on Thursday 30 September. Topic and…
19/07/10
HFM Week US Performance Awards
Following the success of the last year’s HFM US Hedge Fund Performance Awards we...
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