Cheyne Capital Launches Onshore Hedge Fund;Avoids New EU Rules
September 11 2009 - 6:01AM
Dow Jones News
Cheyne Capital Management (UK) LLP Friday launched a new onshore
fund, the Cheyne Select UCITS Fund PLC, becoming the latest hedge
fund group to create such a fund in order to avoid strict new
European regulations for alternative investments.
The Cheyne Select Convertibles Fund, which will invest in
interest-paying securities in a company and also give the investor
an option to convert into shares, is just the first in a series of
Ucits III compliant funds that Cheyne Capital will be rolling out
over the next year.
Ucits, or Undertakings for Collective Investments in
Transferable Securities, is the regulatory framework for European
funds that comply with certain criteria relating to transparency,
valuation and risk and can be marketed to individual investors
across the region.
A number of hedge fund companies are taking advantage of the
structure to pre-empt tough new regulation contained in a draft
European Commission directive, which won't apply to Ucits funds.
Thursday, Man Group PLC (EMG.LN) said it was launching an onshore
version of its AHL managed-futures fund and similar Ucits-compliant
funds have already been launched by Brevan Howard and GLG Partners
Inc. (GLG).
"We are delighted to be adding to Cheyne's diverse range of
product offerings with the launch of this new convertibles UCITS
product. It represents an attractive opportunity for a wider range
of investors to access this exciting strategy," said Jonathan
Lourie, Cheyne Capital co-founder and chief executive.
Cheyne is the investment manager to the new fund, which is
regulated by the Irish Financial Services Authority, and JP Morgan
in Ireland, which acts as administrator and custodian.
-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241;
marietta.cauchi@dowjones.com