The list of hedge firms launching Ucits III-compliant Newcits funds continues to grow, as five more are revealed.
Those announcing Newcits plans this week include Toscafund, Frankfurt-based Trycon GCM, Cheyne Capital and Castlestone Management, while Merchant Capital and Spanish platform Tressis have also teamed up for a new long/short fund.
According to Reuters, Toscafund is to launch a Ucits version of its $110 million small and mid cap hedge fund strategy, in response to demand from private clients.
It will have the same name as the hedge fund- Tosca Mid Cap- and the firm thinks it will be able to replicate the strategy within a Ucits wrapper. The firm said it will be its first and last Ucits launch.
Another alternatives firm entering the space is Cheyne Capital, which is to launch a mergers and acquisitions Ucits fund, also according to Reuters.
Meanwhile in Germany, Trycon is launching a long/short fund called TRYCON Basic Invest HAIG, which will target returns of 8-10% per annum, with a volatility of 6-8%. It will invest in 30 international markets, taking long and short positions in listed derivatives of equity indices, interest rates, bonds and currencies.
'With the Ucits III structure we are preserving the benefits of an absolute return strategy whilst offering the additional advantages of a well-regulated environment, especially with regard to transparency and liquidity,' said Michael Guenther, Trycon's managing director, of the new fund.
Elsewhere, Merchant Capital is targeting high net worth individuals across Europe for its new long/short Merchant European Equity Fund. A market-neutral strategy, it will take twenty long and twenty short positions from its universe of 600 stocks. Its gross exposure will not exceed 180%, while its net exposure will not exceed plus or minus 20%.
The fund will be managed by Merchant Capital, but Robert Maxwell from Spanish firm Tressis will act as investment advisor.
'We believe that a fund of this type within the Ucits structure provided by Merchant Capital will be very well received by investors looking for consistent returns with low volatility,' said Maxwell.
Merchant Capital, which acts as a platform for hedge funds launching Ucits vehicles, anticipates that it will be involved in further launches in the near future.
'Tressis’ fund is an excellent example of how we wish to facilitate innovative investment managers with the essential operational and regulatory support to bring their investment ideas quickly to market,' said George Cadbury, a director of Merchant Capital. 'We are now in advanced discussions with a number of other fund management companies looking seriously at how they can use us to launch Ucits funds this year.'
The new launches do not end there: Castlestone Management has launched a Ucits III-compliant version of its offshore Intelligent Portfolio (IQ) Asset Allocation fund.
The fund, which had been scheduled for release last year but was delayed because of complications adapting it to fit Ucits III rules, is an actively managed portfolio investing in global equities, bonds, commodities, hedge funds, money markets and property.
It aims to provide an absolute return for investors over the long term, using diversification across asset classes to give investors capital preservation and growth, and Castlestone said the fund was designed to be a core part of investors' portfolios.
The fund - which is domiciled in Dublin and which has a range of share classes including sterling and euro denominations - currently has 40% invested in global equities, 30% in alternatives and 10% in real assets such as property and commodities. It also has 10% in fixed income and 10% in cash.
The IQ fund is the third offering Castlestone has introduced to investors, having already launched Ucits-compliant versions of its Aliquot Agriculture Fund and the Aliquot Commodity Fund.
Author Resource:-
Cheyne Capital is an independent hedge fund manager.
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