MILAN, Italy (HedgeWorld.com) – The first hedge fund of funds to be offered at a lower investment minimum in Italy was launched on May 19 by Zenit Alternative Investments SGR, which hired BucephaleGroup as investment adviser.
Zenit will launch a series of multi-strategy hedge funds of funds. The first fund, the Zenit Hunter Fund, is the first to be launched under new rules from the Central Bank of Italy authorizing minimum investments of 500,000 euros (US$579,400). The initial assets will be coming from the major shareholders of Zenit.
Four years ago, the Central Bank passed the Fondi Speculativi law, which allowed for the establishment of onshore hedge funds. At the time, the Central Bank’s rules stated that the minimum investment for hedge funds is 1 million euro.
The fund is registered in Italy for Italian high-net-worth investors and institutions. To date most of the hedge fund offerings in Italy have been funds of funds, said Giuseppe Tom, senior partner at Bucephale. Between 20 and 25 funds have come to market there, he added.
The Hunter fund will be consistent with Bucephale’s Hunter strategy and will invest in a diversified portfolio of hedge funds in order to minimize volatility all the while producing steady returns. A tactical asset allocation strategy, 70% of the fund will be allocated to low-beta strategies, while 30% will go to hybrid strategies. The style’s track record dates back to November 1998.
Zenit chose Geneva-based Bucephale after a lengthy search and due diligence process. Bucephale manages more than 500 million euros in private label portfolios. The firm advises institutional clients in three different investment styles – Hunter, Sprinter and Stayer – each with differing risk/return profiles.
Last December, Bucephale teamed up with Macquarie Group, an investment adviser with a number of hedge funds in Australia and New Zealand to create and launch a series of structured hedge funds.
