11/08/2010 Author: Elana Margulies

FletcherBennett and Invus to launch FoHF

FletcherBennett Group, a hedge fund consulting firm, and Invus Financial Advisors, an alternative investment manager in New York, have formed a joint venture to launch a fund of hedge funds (FoHF), HFMWeek has learned.

The new investment manager, called FB Lake, will roll out its maiden offering in October, which will allocate to emerging managers in the long/short equity space. The managers can be geographically focused or have a sector bias.

“In the post-2008 environment, we are seeing a tremendous number of new talented managers and at the same time, the industry is incredibly capital-constrained and we are uniquely qualified to provide that capital to these managers,” said Leslie Lake, portfolio manager.

The FoHF, which has an average of 20 underlying managers, has grown out of a strategy Lake has been running for 15 years for a family office. It has an initial capacity of $500m and then can ultimately grow to $1bn.

Lake has a background in managing money for families since 1987, including the Kennedys, the Charles Feeney Group and Mitchell Kapor. Subsequently in 1995, she joined Invus Group, where she ran her current portfolio and, in 2006, established Invus Financial Advisors.