Signet, a $1.4 billion fund-of-hedge-funds management and advisory group based in London and Lausanne, has launched its first UCITS-compliant fund of funds in response to growing demand from its institutional and private-bank clients.

The new Signet Multi-Strategy Fund offers weekly liquidity and will allocate globally to approximately 15 hedge funds that follow limits set forth by UCITS III. The Dublin-domiciled fund is intended for use by investors in the UK, Continental Europe and Asia.

Tim Gardner, Signet’s global head of sales, said: “Our clients have asked for, and we have delivered, a genuine fund of UCITS hedge funds -- not a wrapper or an index. Because the underlying funds will be UCITS-regulated, they will be subject to strict limits on leverage and liquidity.”

Robert Marquardt, who founded the independent firm in 1993, said: “As the number of UCITS hedge funds has increased exponentially, research and risk management have become critically important, and the best funds-of-funds distinguish themselves in both these areas. Our experienced team performs precisely the same thorough due diligence on these funds as it does for our other funds.”

Marquardt added, “The fund will be flexible in terms of strategy. It will allocate mainly to long/short equity and fixed income, but also to multi-strategy, global macro, and other strategies – always keeping UCITS guidelines in mind.”