West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – The Banker Middle East Industry Awards 2009 has given Man Investments the ‘Best Hedge Fund Company’ award. Attended by H. E. Mr. Rasheed Mohammed Al Maraj, Governor of the Central Bank of Bahrain, the Banker Middle East Industry Awards gathered more than 350 government officials, regulators as well as banking and finance executives to recognise and award the best institutions operating in the Middle East in 24 different categories. Man Investments also won the hedge fund award in 2008.

"Winning the award for the second year in a row is an honour for us as it shows that other industry leaders recognise Man as a leader in developing the hedge fund industry in the Middle East." Patrick Merville, CEO of Man Investments Middle East, said.

Man Investments’ first regional office in the world was opened in 1986, based in the Arab region. Since then, the company has established a robust base of institutional and retail clients. Man Investments is part of Man Group plc, one of the world’s largest hedge fund providers.

"Banker Middle East Industry Awards are widely recognised as the benchmark of excellence and we are very pleased to have been the winner in this category since its inception," added Merville.

During the voting process, which started in April and closed early this month, nominees were elected from a shortlist pre-selected by the judging panel, which comprises international industry specialists from the major rating agencies, the region’s financial centres and independent banking consultants who remain anonymous to ensure unbiased selections.

Alex Akesson

Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: alex@hedgeco.net

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New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Just days after what could prove to be the largest Wall Street sham in history, investors that were burned by Bernard Madoff are coming forward in droves.

Spanish bank Santander, along with French bank BNP Paribas both detailed their exposure to the alleged ponzi scheme on Sunday.  Santander estimated it had just over $3 billion tied up in the firm, while BNP Paribas has about $470 million at stake. 

"While BNP Paribas has no investment of its own in the hedge funds managed by Bernard Madoff Investment Services, it does have risk exposure to these funds through its trading business and collateralized lending to funds of hedge funds," BNP said in a statement.

Santander’s exposure came from a sub fund of their Optimal Fund, called Optimal Strategic US Equity, which used Madoff Securities for their investments. 

A handful of hedge funds have also come forward in the wake of the scandal.  Fairfield Greenwich Group released a statement on Friday saying they were still trying to assess their losses, but estimated they had about $7.5 billion, or half of its total assets, tied up in Madoff’s firm as of November.  Founding Partner Jeffrey Tucker said they were “shocked and appalled by this news.”

Tremont Capital Management also had a hefty amount invested with Madoff through their fund of funds.  “Needless to say, our level of anger and dismay over the apparent betrayal by Mr. Madoff and his organization of his 14-year relationship with Tremont is immeasurable,” Tremont stated in a letter to investors on Friday.

Also coming forward on Friday was Maxam Capital Management, who reported losing $280 million through Madoff-linked investments. 

Bernard Madoff, owner of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities and part founder the Nasdaq stock market, was arrested and charged on Thursday with orchestrating a $50 billion scam that targeted some of the most reputable hedge funds and affluent individuals in the business.  The 70-year-old allegedly ran a large ponzi-scheme where new money coming in is used to pay off existing investors, creating the false notion of peak performance and admirable returns. 

Julie Scuderi
Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net
Email: julie@hedgeco.net

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