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Three Suggested Additions To Hot 100

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By Shane Norman

These are three noteworthy trends at work in the hedge fund industry that augment the Hedge Fund Hot 100 published here recently:
  • REGULATED HEDGE FUNDS: I have a secondary role as adviser to ML Capital, owner/ manager of the MontLake UCITS Platform. It has been instructive to watch this business grow from just USD5m and one fund in October 2010 to its present near-USD200m and five funds. This is partly testament to the vision and marketing nous of John Lowry and Cyril Delamare, its founders, but also due to the growing interest among wealth managers and IFAs in the edge provided by absolute-return, but with the comfort of regulation.

 

  • JAPAN: About 10 days ago, the Government Pension Investment Fund announced it would consider raising its equity allocation for the first time in decades. At Symphony Financial Partners, Tokyo, the founder/ CIO, David Baran (his Value Realization Fund was +45% last year, +14% so far in ’13), has been predicting for some time that, once Japanese pension funds stop selling, the Nikkei would surge to 15,000. Hang-on-to-your-hats time in Tokyo?

 

  • MODERATION: More and more investors seem to be leery of funds promising annual returns in the teens or higher, partly because recent experience indicates such performance may be unattainable, but mainly because they cannot stomach the concomitant volatility, 2+20 fees,  and/ or restricted liquidity. These are key motives underlying the current move by pension funds and other institutional investors towards diversified growth funds and ‘smart beta’. The trend is also affecting private-wealth investment strategies. Noting this, Robert Reoch of New College Capital, London, launched SBS Opportunities SICAV, a corporate receivables fund that aims at an annual return of 8-10% with ready monthly liquidity, moderate fees, and high levels of capital security. With only referral marketing and no publicity, the fund has grown from just USD1.4m at launch last June to around USD12m now and monthly returns are ticking along steadily.

 

 

 

Shane Norman provides institutional marketing services for hedge funds – see www.shanehnorman.co.uk