10 Feb 2010
The launch of a new UCITS convertible bond fund by Jabre Capital Partners, the multi-strategy hedge fund led by Philippe Jabre, and Swiss private bank Pictet, has attracted commitments of €805 million. It marks the biggest debut ever in the rapidly expanding UCITS hedge fund sector.
The PF (Lux) Convertible fund launched on February 1 and closed just a week later. It has received around €760 million to-date with the additional commitments to come. The fund is charging a 20% performance fee with no hurdle and a high water mark. Pictet appointed Jabre to manage the fund in January.
The allocations have come from Pictet’s European private clients and institutional investors. The fund is the not the first UCITS convertible bond fund to operate with an absolute return mandate, but it is by far the largest offering in the strategy.
Jabre, who has pledged that this will be the only convertible bond fund he will run, has over 25 year of experience in managing absolute return funds, including hedge funds and long-only funds. He launched Jabre Capital in Geneva after leaving GLG Partners in 2007. His flagship JabCap Multi-Strategy Fund returned 84% in 2009, while the JabCap Global Convertible Fund returned almost 70%.
Jabre Capital offers both alternative and traditional investment strategies as well as discretionary asset management for private clients. It currently manages nearly $5 billion and employs 50 investment professionals.
The new fund will invest globally with a non-benchmark approach and will seek equity-like returns with lower volatility. Its investments will be principally comprised of large-cap companies with about 80% of the exposure split between Europe and North America, with 20% in the rest of the world.
The launch comes as Hedge Fund Research reports that more than 200 hedge fund offerings now comply with UCITSIII guidelines. Total hedge fund assets under management in UCITS III-compliant funds now exceed $55 billion, a figure that HFR expects to see continue growing. .
In some cases firms are receiving UCITS III approval for existing vehicles, while in other cases firms are launching new products which conform to the UCITS III guidance. Key rules in the UCITS format include restrictions on leverage, an emphasis on more frequent liquidity and tighter governance standards.
Growth in the sector is seeing The Hedge Fund Journal launch UCITS Hedge in the first quarter of 2010. UCITS Hedge will offer a database, index, newsletter and performance reporting services for UCITS III-compliant hedge funds. The index and database service will be provided by us in association with Tomlinson Investment Consulting and will be called the UCITS Hedge-Tomlinson Index.
The PF (Lux) Convertible fund launched on February 1 and closed just a week later. It has received around €760 million to-date with the additional commitments to come. The fund is charging a 20% performance fee with no hurdle and a high water mark. Pictet appointed Jabre to manage the fund in January.
The allocations have come from Pictet’s European private clients and institutional investors. The fund is the not the first UCITS convertible bond fund to operate with an absolute return mandate, but it is by far the largest offering in the strategy.
Jabre, who has pledged that this will be the only convertible bond fund he will run, has over 25 year of experience in managing absolute return funds, including hedge funds and long-only funds. He launched Jabre Capital in Geneva after leaving GLG Partners in 2007. His flagship JabCap Multi-Strategy Fund returned 84% in 2009, while the JabCap Global Convertible Fund returned almost 70%.
Jabre Capital offers both alternative and traditional investment strategies as well as discretionary asset management for private clients. It currently manages nearly $5 billion and employs 50 investment professionals.
The new fund will invest globally with a non-benchmark approach and will seek equity-like returns with lower volatility. Its investments will be principally comprised of large-cap companies with about 80% of the exposure split between Europe and North America, with 20% in the rest of the world.
The launch comes as Hedge Fund Research reports that more than 200 hedge fund offerings now comply with UCITSIII guidelines. Total hedge fund assets under management in UCITS III-compliant funds now exceed $55 billion, a figure that HFR expects to see continue growing. .
In some cases firms are receiving UCITS III approval for existing vehicles, while in other cases firms are launching new products which conform to the UCITS III guidance. Key rules in the UCITS format include restrictions on leverage, an emphasis on more frequent liquidity and tighter governance standards.
“As the structural requirements of institutional investors continue to shape the landscape of the industry, funds conforming to UCITS III guidance have generated a significant amount of interest,” says Ken Heinz, president of HFR. “UCITS III constitutes a compelling and tractable set of guidelines which serve to greatly enhance product transparency, cross-border distribution, and risk control, while at the same time providing an attractive alternative to other regulatory proposals under consideration by various financial regulatory authorities globally.”
Growth in the sector is seeing The Hedge Fund Journal launch UCITS Hedge in the first quarter of 2010. UCITS Hedge will offer a database, index, newsletter and performance reporting services for UCITS III-compliant hedge funds. The index and database service will be provided by us in association with Tomlinson Investment Consulting and will be called the UCITS Hedge-Tomlinson Index.
