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17 Nov 2008

Hedge Funds Praise The Receivables Exchange

Receivables Exchange, the world’s first online marketplace for real-time trading of accounts receivable, today announced that it has launched its proprietary patent-pending trading platform to conduct live trading of accounts receivable.

“The Receivables Exchange is a phenomenal idea that has hit the asset based finance industry by storm,” said Michael Scanlon, Managing Director of HedgeCo.net and Member of the Board for The Hedge Fund Association. “Through its centralized, transparent marketplace, it is transforming an industry that has long been based on one-to-one relationships, effectively making the sale of commercial receivables a completely transparent and globally competitive marketplace.”

At The Receivables Exchange, U.S. businesses (Sellers) are able to increase their cash flow and free up their working capital by having their outstanding receivables bid on in real-time by a global network of institutional investors (Buyers).

“The Receivables Exchange was founded on the fundamental belief that America’s small and mid-sized businesses should have better access to working capital,” said Justin Brownhill, co-founder and chief executive officer of The Receivables Exchange. “In today’s credit crisis, we’re hearing from CEOs and CFOs across the country that the need has never been greater for them to identify alternative funding sources to reinvest into their businesses in order to maintain their success.”

Companies of all sizes – from under $10 million to over $150 million - have been signing up to use their receivables to accelerate cash flow. Members span a diverse range of dozens of industries, including manufacturing, technology, transportation, distribution and staffing – all realizing the strategic advantage of monetizing their accounts receivable, particularly in today’s troubling credit crunch.

Commercial banks, hedge funds and asset-based lenders can take advantage of the centralized, competitive marketplace to realize a stable, high growth investment opportunity.

“The Receivables Exchange allows us to extend our asset-based finance investment strategies to include short-term receivables,” said Sam Adams, managing director of Cedar Lane, a New York based asset based hedge fund. “The Exchange offers a unique opportunity to obtain returns better than money-market but with shorter tenures than the traditional entertainment and media loan positions in our funds’ portfolios. Through The Receivables Exchange platform we can invest funds on a short-term basis to a qualified pool of Sellers at a more attractive rate of return than cash alternatives without diverging from our investment strategy.”

Pharos Hedge Fund Launches Office In Dubai

Pharos Financial Advisors Limited, a specialist emerging markets fund manager, announced that it has been granted a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate as an authorised firm within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Founded in 1997 by US national, Peter M. Halloran, with seed capital from Soros Fund Management and CS First Boston, Pharos Financial Group currently runs three funds - the Pharos Russia Fund, the Pharos Small Cap Fund, and the Pharos Gas Investment Fund.

"We are delighted to receive a license from DFSA, particularly as the first ever fund manager with a Russian/CIS focus to join DIFC," Halloran said, "Pharos intends to fill the niche as the market leader in emerging markets fund management. Already we have seen tremendous appetite from GCC investors for our Russian-focused investment opportunities."

Prior to founding Pharos Financial Group, Halloran was the principal contributor toward building the #1 ranked CS First Boston equity and fixed income brokerage businesses in Russia and the CIS. He has been a leader in the development of the Russian capital markets since their inception in 1994, bringing more than $8 billion to the markets through debt, equity and private placements including Russia's first local IPO and more than $2 billion of privatisation initiatives.

Welcoming Pharos to DIFC, Nasser Al Shaali, CEO, commented, "We welcome Pharos Financial Group to the Dubai International Financial Centre. DIFC will provide Pharos with a supportive environment to advance their business growth in the Middle East. The world-class regulatory framework in DIFC will give them additional credibility as a specialist emerging market fund manager."

The Pharos investment team brings more than 90 years of combined expertise in emerging markets to its new operations in DIFC. Moreover, Pharos has sat on 40 seats of Russian company boards. Two Pharos Funds were ranked among the top 15 hedge funds globally by Bloomberg and Eurohedge. Currently, the three Pharos funds are ranked 1-2-3 among best performers in Russia this year.

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) is an onshore hub for global finance. It bridges the time gap between the financial centres of Hong Kong and London and services a region with the largest untapped emerging market for financial services. In just three years, over 700 firms have registered at the DIFC.

Pharos Financial Group ranks as the world's leading fund manager having a focus on Russia and the CIS with a successful track record of over 11 years. With offices in Moscow and now Dubai, Pharos Financial Group has produced superior absolute returns over the years while providing institutions and private investors an opportunity to gain exposure in the emerging markets of Russia and the CIS.