Martin Currie Launches Asia Hedge Fund

Investors Offshore, London

25 July 2002

Martin Currie, the independent investment manager, has raised an initial $13.5 million for a third hedge fund in its Absolute Return series. Martin Currie Absolute Return Funds – Asia Fund aims to offer consistent absolute returns that have a low correlation with any equity market index. The performance objective is to provide an annualised return of 15%-20% per annum with volatility of less than 12%.

The manager of the fund is Jason McCay, who worked for Deutsche Morgan Grenfell in Indonesia as head of research. He joined Martin Currie in 1998 and has managed the long-only Martin Currie Asia Pacific Fund since September 1998. He said: “We intend to meet our objective through a combination of long/short alpha generation and active balance sheet management, capitalising on directional shifts within Asian markets. We will run with 25-40 long stocks and 10-20 short. There will be active management of gross and net exposures and disciplined risk management to limit drawdowns and contain volatility.”

Martin Currie’s CEO, Willie Watt, commented: “We’re pleased by the success of our first two hedge funds – Japan, which at $200 million has just closed to new investors, and UK. We have said from the start that we aimed to build a significant business in alternative investment products. That is exactly what we’re doing.”

The minimum investment in the Bermuda-registered, Dublin-listed fund is $100,000. The management fee is 1.5%, and the performance fee is 20% (‘high water mark’ basis). Dealing is monthly - with additional, weekly dealing at directors’ discretion. NAVs will be published weekly. There is no lock-up period, and no entry or exit fees.

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