Press Releases
BRAMDEAN WELCOMES FSA’S BROADENING OF RETAIL ALTERNATIVES MARKET 27/02/2008
Bramdean Asset Management LLP chief executive Nicola Horlick has welcomed the Financial Services Authority’s moves to make hedge funds of funds more accessible to retail investors. The regulator is reported to be making progress towards changes in taxation and other measures, which will be announced in full later this year, for implementation in 2009.
Bramdean, a specialist manager of alternative investments, already manages a closed-ended fund of alternatives, Bramdean Alternatives Limited, which was launched last year. Bramdean is looking at launching an open ended fund of funds later this year.
Nicola Horlick says: “The UK institutional market is already increasing its exposure to alternatives, as its allocation to alternatives lags that of its US and European peers. Opening up the alternatives market to the retail market makes sense for those investors seeking further diversity in their portfolios.”
However, Ms. Horlick stressed that education of retail investors and their advisers was essential for the FSA’s proposal to be successful. “This is a complex area of the investment market,” she commented. “As such I would expect education to be a top priority for our industry. At Bramdean, we spend a lot of time making sure that our investors and potential investors thoroughly understand the asset classes that fall into the alternatives category. It is important that investors understand how these assets work. We will continue to invest time on education for investors.”
Bramdean intends to develop relationships with key partners, especially distributors, in its plans for offering alternatives products for the retail market. “It will be important for Bramdean to work with partners with the distribution network in place. It is equally important that the distributors work with specialist investment managers with the expertise to build credible products in this area that are appropriate for retail investors,” she continued.
