3A (Alternative Asset Advisors), the hedge-fund management division of Swiss
banking group SYZ and Co, has announced the launch of six new sub funds of the
Alternative Capital Enhancement SICAV, 3A’s Luxembourg-based USD1.3 bn
fund of hedge funds SICAV.
The new sub funds represent two different strategies, ACE Asia Fund and ACE
Opportunity Fund. Both are available in USD, EUR and CHF, and like all other
ACE sub funds, the new funds are authorised for distribution in Switzerland
as 'funds presenting special risks.'
Through a diversified portfolio of Asian hedge funds, 3A believes that the ACE Asia
Fund provides investors with access to the impressive growth rates achieved
by economies in this region, particularly China and India. In addition, the
firm argued that the Asia fund allows diversification away from the North American
and European markets.
The ACE Asia Fund was established on 1 June 2007, before receiving authorisation
for distribution in Switzerland at the end of 2007. It is now publicly available,
like all other sub funds of Alternative Capital Enhancement, as a fund with
special risks.
The ACE Opportunity Fund aims to generate returns above the average yield of
multi-strategy funds, through a portfolio combining opportunistic hedge funds
with managers focusing on what 3A believes are the most promising investment
themes in the short to medium term. 3A explained that this fund should be able to achieve higher
returns than a conventional multi-strategy fund, but is accompanied by somewhat
higher volatility, and should therefore be considered as a complement to an existing
portfolio of hedge funds.
Currently, the ACE Opportunity Fund focuses on a number of investment themes
and is invested in 17 hedge funds representing various distinct strategies, such as:
US economic slowdown (Macro), rising default rate (Credit), Russia / Technology
/ Gold (Long/Short Equity), increased volatility in Asia (Long Volatility),
and opportunistic managers.
The ACE Opportunity Fund was launched on 1 December 2007, and is authorised for
distribution in Switzerland.
The minimum subscription in all three currencies is 1,000 for Class A investors,
10,000 for Class B investors, and 5 million for institutional investors. The
annual management and performance fees are 1.5% and 7.5% respectively, except
for institutional investors, who are charged a management fee of 1%.