Tuesday, March 08, 2005
ABN Amro - Competitor or Strat Partner?
ABN Amro Plans to Seed New Funds
By Chidem Kurdas, New York Bureau Chief
Monday, March 07, 2005 8:55:41 AM ET
NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)—Encouraged by fast growth in its hedge fund business, the investment management arm of ABN Amro Bank NV expects to launch fund of funds and single-strategy vehicles in 2005 and 2006.
ABN Amro Asset Management, headquartered in London and Amsterdam, added more than US$500 million to its hedge fund assets in 2004, bringing the total to US$2 billion from only US$40 million three years ago. About half the current assets are in funds of funds, and the rest are in emerging markets and currency hedge funds and structured notes.
"We will be looking to build on that success, launching products in both the funds of hedge funds and single-strategy arenas, and have set ourselves the target of having hedge fund assets in the region of US$3 billion under management by the end of 2006," commented the firm's head of alternative investments, Gary Vaughan-Smith, in a statement.
He particularly is interested in starting funds to be managed by talent already present within ABN Amro but also may recruit managers from outside. "ABN Amro has always enjoyed a reputation for nurturing talent and we will be looking to incubate and develop some of our finest talent over the next 24 months, and, on the back of that, bring some exciting new products to the market," he said.
The company indicated that there is significant demand for hedge fund products from the clients of its private bank and institutional distribution network. Mr. Vaughan-Smith sees the hedge fund sector at an early stage of development and believes industry assets are likely to grow by as much as 30% annually over the next two years.
By Chidem Kurdas, New York Bureau Chief
Monday, March 07, 2005 8:55:41 AM ET
NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)—Encouraged by fast growth in its hedge fund business, the investment management arm of ABN Amro Bank NV expects to launch fund of funds and single-strategy vehicles in 2005 and 2006.
ABN Amro Asset Management, headquartered in London and Amsterdam, added more than US$500 million to its hedge fund assets in 2004, bringing the total to US$2 billion from only US$40 million three years ago. About half the current assets are in funds of funds, and the rest are in emerging markets and currency hedge funds and structured notes.
"We will be looking to build on that success, launching products in both the funds of hedge funds and single-strategy arenas, and have set ourselves the target of having hedge fund assets in the region of US$3 billion under management by the end of 2006," commented the firm's head of alternative investments, Gary Vaughan-Smith, in a statement.
He particularly is interested in starting funds to be managed by talent already present within ABN Amro but also may recruit managers from outside. "ABN Amro has always enjoyed a reputation for nurturing talent and we will be looking to incubate and develop some of our finest talent over the next 24 months, and, on the back of that, bring some exciting new products to the market," he said.
The company indicated that there is significant demand for hedge fund products from the clients of its private bank and institutional distribution network. Mr. Vaughan-Smith sees the hedge fund sector at an early stage of development and believes industry assets are likely to grow by as much as 30% annually over the next two years.
# posted by Tom @ 6:44 AM 
