WEST PALM BEACH, FL (HEDGECO.NET) -The Australian bank, Macquarie Bank, has launched four new specialist hedge funds. The bank said it has provided seed money of US $40 million for the newstrategies, with US $10 million going into each of the funds. Macquarie Bank is Australia�s biggest investment bank. Its new division, Macquarie Newton Specialist Funds Management, will beresponsible for the day to day management obligations of the new funds.
The establishment of the new hedge funds was necessitated by investor demand according to the bank. The new asset management subsidiary has been staffed with experienced personnel drawn from the bank�s proprietary equities desk.
The division director of the bank, Cathy Kovacs explained that the new portfolios were constructed in such a way to enable interested investors access to absolute returns. Kovacs said, “The funds offer investors exposure to situations and price differentials, which they would otherwise find prohibitive to trade directly themselves.� Kovacs also explained that the new strategies were constructed in a way to suit the risk and return needs of different investors. She added, “They provide diversity across a variety of sophisticated hedge fund strategies in a way that aims to provide attractive risk-adjusted returns in a variety of market conditions.�
Minimum investment requirement for the new funds were kept at US $50,000, but no details about fee structure were immediately made available. The Australian hedge fund sector has been growing at a steady rate, mirroring the global trend, as investors continue to seek alternatives to equities which have lagged hedge funds in returns in recent years. According to InvestorInfo reports, the average Australian hedge fund returned about 17.3 percent during the 2003/2004 duration.
Paul Oranika
Editor-in-Chief
HedgeCo.Net
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