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West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – Pharos Financial Advisors Limited, a specialist emerging markets fund manager, announced that it has been granted a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate as an authorised firm within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
Founded in 1997 by US national, Peter M. Halloran, with seed capital from Soros Fund Management and CS First Boston, Pharos Financial Group currently runs three funds – the Pharos Russia Fund, the Pharos Small Cap Fund, and the Pharos Gas Investment Fund.
"We are delighted to receive a license from DFSA, particularly as the first ever fund manager with a Russian/CIS focus to join DIFC," Halloran said, "Pharos intends to fill the niche as the market leader in emerging markets fund management. Already we have seen tremendous appetite from GCC investors for our Russian-focused investment opportunities."
Prior to founding Pharos Financial Group, Halloran was the principal contributor toward building the #1 ranked CS First Boston equity and fixed income brokerage businesses in Russia and the CIS. He has been a leader in the development of the Russian capital markets since their inception in 1994, bringing more than $8 billion to the markets through debt, equity and private placements including Russia’s first local IPO and more than $2 billion of privatisation initiatives.
Welcoming Pharos to DIFC, Nasser Al Shaali, CEO, commented, "We welcome Pharos Financial Group to the Dubai International Financial Centre. DIFC will provide Pharos with a supportive environment to advance their business growth in the Middle East. The world-class regulatory framework in DIFC will give them additional credibility as a specialist emerging market fund manager."
The Pharos investment team brings more than 90 years of combined expertise in emerging markets to its new operations in DIFC. Moreover, Pharos has sat on 40 seats of Russian company boards. Two Pharos Funds were ranked among the top 15 hedge funds globally by Bloomberg and Eurohedge. Currently, the three Pharos funds are ranked 1-2-3 among best performers in Russia this year.
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centres of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services. In just three years, over 700 firms have registered at the DIFC.
Pharos Financial Group ranks as the world’s leading fund manager having a focus on Russia and the CIS with a successful track record of over 11 years. With offices in Moscow and now Dubai, Pharos Financial Group has produced superior absolute returns over the years while providing institutions and private investors an opportunity to gain exposure in the emerging markets of Russia and the CIS.
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Reuters- Singapore’s Wittenham Investment Management launched a fund of hedge funds to invest in frontier capital markets such as Africa, Middle East and countries in the former Soviet Union.
The MENA Plus fund would start with a minimum $7 million seed capital and has a capacity to take as much as $300 million of funds from investors, said Peter Douglas, an adviser to the fund and founder of hedge fund consultancy GFIA.
"In the emerging Europe, Middle East, and African time zone, we’ve found plenty of experienced managers creating very attractive risk-return profiles," he said in a statement.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.Net)- Athamas Capital, a Luxembourg domiciled alternative investment fund, has announced the launch of the Athamas Capital SICAV SIF Hedge Fund. (Specialised Investment Fund)
Launched on June 1st, the hedge fund´s strategy is to achieve an absolute return by investing in listed companies addressing the energy and environmental challenges, including; energy, alternative energy, agriculture, energy efficiency and environmental services.
With Goldman Sachas as prime broker, the Athamas Capital SICAV SIF Hedge Fund has EUR16.5 million ($25.5 million) in seed capital and is open to professional investors, high net worth individuals and institutional investors for a minimum investment of EUR250,000 (approximately $390,000). The target fund size for 2010 through 2012 is EUR50-100 million (approximately $77-154 million).
The hedge fund’s strategy stems from the conviction that the energy and environmental sectors will be key in the 21st century due to the depletion of the global energy supply, rising demand, global warming issues raising awareness, as well as regulations and business initiatives to adapt and mitigate it.
Structured as an umbrella fund with four sub-funds, (some of which are yet to be launched) Athamas Capital is an alternative investment fund in the energy and environmental sector, trading mainly along the lines of; long/short equities, long/short listed or OTC derivatives, and futures on indices or commodities.
Athamas means; ("rich harvest"), the king of Orchomenos in Greek mythology, was the son of Eole. He was married first to the goddess Nephele (goddess of Clouds) with whom he had the twins Phrixus (driving rain) and Helle (bright light).
Bloomberg- BlackRock Inc., the largest publicly traded U.S. money manager, and Ospraie Management LLC, are among five companies that will start Shariah-compliant hedge funds based in Dubai.
The funds will get $50 million each in so-called seed capital from the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre Authority, a government-backed agency. Barclays Capital, securities unit of Britain’s fourth-largest bank, will also back the funds which will start in the next two weeks, said Frank Gerhard, the bank’s head of fund-linked derivatives strategy in an interview.
Shariah forbids investment in companies judged by scholars to be highly indebted, and those involved in alcohol, gambling and weaponry. Financial information companies including Standard & Poor’s and Dow Jones & Co. have started Islamic indexes that show only Shariah-compliant companies. The world’s Muslim community has about $3.6 trillion of combined wealth, Standard & Poor’s estimated in 2006.
