London Hedge Fund Firm To List Record Offering In Amsterdam

by Philip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

15 November 2006

It emerged this week that UK-based hedge fund group Marshall Wace is planning to float a potentially record-breaking hedge fund offering in Amsterdam, as a result of the UK's 'anachronistic' hedge fund listing rules.

The firm will sell shares on Euronext Amsterdam in a newly created investment company, MW TOPS, which will pursue two of Marshall Wace's hedge fund strategies, and is seeking annual returns of between 12% and 16%.

It is looking to raise as much as EUR1.5 billion, which would make it the largest ever initial public offering of a hedge fund vehicle.

However, according to a Times report published this week, Sir Andrew Large, the fund's newly appointed Chairman, and former Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, revealed that the UK's ban on the listing of single-strategy hedge funds was the reason that the UK had lost out to Amsterdam in terms of listing the offering.

“It’s a historic thing,” Sir Andrew explained to The Times, continuing:

“I think it’s a bit of an anachronism.”

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