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19 Oct 2009

Salus Alpha’s perspective on UCITS III Hedge Funds

HedgeCo Archives - Salus Alpha issued a statement regarding the reinvention of the hedge fund sector since last year’s crisis. “UCITS Hedge Funds” are known as a new and innovative concept, but the strategy actually goes back to 2002 when the first hedge fund was implemented under UCITS I.

The UCITS directive was established in 1986 but it took 16 years for asset managers to take notice of the opportunities the directive provided, Salus Alpha states. Only few tried to structure innovative hedge fund products within the UCITS directive and only one was able to successfully launch the first UCITS I Hedge Fund and expand the product range significantly under UCITS III.

"From the beginning it was clear to us that transparency, liquidity and risk management were the most important factors to secure our success in inventing UCITS Hedge Funds. We recognized the potential of UCITS Hedge Funds in 2002 and despite the complicated regulations we were able to offer the first regulated Hedge Funds already under UCITS I in 2003." Salus Alpha explained.

Now after the financial crisis has wreaked havoc on the market everyone wants to be part of the UCITS Hedge Fund world.

"We strongly believe in investing in alpha therefore it’s a mystery to us why the majority of the market invests in beta. It is becoming clearer that the interval between crises will get shorter since the global markets are more volatile than the markets of just one country. Therefore investing in products independent from this market volatility will become more important as markets get closer connected."

Hedge Fund Billionaire Probed Through Wiretapping And An Unidentified Informant

The SEC's case against Raj Rajaratnam and his hedge fund Galleon Management LP, is sending ripples throughout the industry, as the use of wiretapping and its effects are emerging.

According to Bloomberg, an unidentified informant began setting up interviews and taping the conversations, leading to the uncovering of the alleged massive insider trading scheme that generated more than $25 million in illicit gains.

The SEC also charged six other hedge fund managers with insider trading, including senior executives at major companies IBM, Intel and McKinsey & Company.

“This complaint describes a web of fraud that has been unraveled,” said SEC Chairman Mary L. Schapiro.

“What we have uncovered in the trading activities of Raj Rajaratnam is that the secret of his success is not genius trading strategies. He is not the astute study of company fundamentals or marketplace trends that he is widely thought to be." said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “He cultivated a network of high-ranking corporate executives and insiders, and then tapped into this ring to obtain confidential details about quarterly earnings and takeover activity.”