German Hedge Fund Manager Becomes Fully Operational Bank

Baader Wertpapierhandelsbank AG has been granted membership to the Compensation Fund of German Banks(EdB) by the German Financial Supervisory Authority(BaFin).

Once the entry into the commercial register has been completed, the institution will be known under its corporate name, Baader Bank AG.

"Receiving the full banking licence is a significant sign of the faith that is placed in the capability of our bank', commented Uto Baader, Chairman of the Baader Board of Directors.

The bank operates as an all-round service provider for asset managers and other institutional customers as well as an arranger of financial innovations. The main products and services provided by the bank include certificates, publicly offered funds, single hedge funds and funds of hedge funds as well as managed accounts.

Baader Service Bank currently has 26 employees and reported net profit of EUR 0.56 million ($1 million) with total assets of EUR 53.3 million ($83.2) in 2007.

$100 Million Legacy Africa Alpha Fund Launched By Bank - Hedge Fund Duo

Florida based hedge fund manager INTL Consilium LLC and First City Monument Bank Plc have jointly launched the Legacy Africa Alpha Fund, a $100 million hedge fund investing in Africa and the Middle East.

"The new Legacy Africa Alpha Fund is a natural extension to our global products as we have been investing aggressively in the region for three years now." Jonathan Binder, co-portfolio manager, said.

Structured as an absolute return fund, the strategy focuses on capital appreciation and income via investments in debt and equity securities in sovereign or corporate entities located in Africa and the Middle East. The goal of the strategy is to produce consistent absolute returns while maintaining attractive risk-adjusted return profiles, irrespective of the conditions of the global markets.

The Legacy Africa Alpha Fund will place a 30% cap on its Middle Eastern weighting to ensure significant exposure to Africa’s fastest growing economies,

"INTL already has over $450 million invested in the region in both debt and equity securities in over 16 different countries as they were quick to identify value and growth opportunities at a time when many investors shied away." co-portfolio manager Charles Cassel added, "The Legacy Africa Alpha Fund is an exciting venture for our team, as it will allow us to leverage our existing knowledge and contacts within the region."

In addition to the Legacy Africa Alpha Fund, CSL is simultaneously launching two additional funds under the flagship “Legacy” brand. The Legacy 50 Fund, an index tracker of Nigeria’s top 50 companies by market capitalization and the Legacy Banking 10, driven semi active fund investing in Nigerian Banking shares will each be launched with N3 billion under management. This will bring total assets under management to N24 billion ($ 205 million), making it arguably the largest asset manager in Nigeria.