18/08/2010 Author: Shannon Hawthorne

Key Asset Management plans Ucits FoHF

London-based fund of hedge funds (FoHF) Key Asset Management, part of Swedish bank SEB, is preparing to launch its first Ucits FoHF.

According to chief investment officer Chris Jones, the move was primarily driven by an increase in client demand. “We have definitely perceived a need, especially in the high-net-worth area,” he told HFMWeek. “Clients want the comfort of a Ucits stamp, as well as the liquidity that can be offered by Ucits.”

He stressed that while this is the first launch of its kind for the firm, the yet-to-be-named fund is “well-supported by SEB”, which already has a number of Ucits-compliant hedge funds in its portfolio.

“As a prerequisite, we will focus on Ucits managers that have a record of generating alpha and proven hedge fund experience,” he added.

The fund will offer daily dealing and has no limit on capacity at present. October has been set as the provisional launch date.

Interest in the Ucits space among FoHFs continues to grow; according to research by KdK Asset Management, only 53 Ucits FoHFs have been launched to date, with total assets under management (AuM) of €3.8bn ($4.9bn).

In a survey of 47 fund management companies, the firm found that 81% of FoHF managers have launched, or are planning to launch, a Ucits vehicle.  

Of those planning to launch a product in the near future, 65% intend to launch a conventional Ucits FoHF, while 14% plan to launch a fund of managed accounts and 6% expect to launch Ucits-compliant index-tracking products.