A joint venture between UK-based financial services group Dawnay, Day and local investment managers Les Walden and Jonathan Ramsay aims to bridge the gap between institutional investment requirements and existing hedge fund products.
Setting up operations in Australia and New Zealand, the joint venture will adopt a boutique-style approach in the opportunistic style of Dawnay, Day, which has collaborated with local experts in commercial property, asset management, private equity and structured products in markets such as Poland, Russia and India.
Dawnay Day Walden managing director Les Walden said it had identified a business opportunity in traditional markets that are currently overextended, and with increasing competition amongst institutional mandates for absolute returns.
“We saw funds flow to traditional balanced portfolios in the early 90s, to traditional sector-specialist portfolios in the late 90s, and are now seeing funds flow to boutique style investment houses or hedge funds that offer a more focused and creative value proposition,” he said.
Dawnay, Day Walden director and head of research Jonathan Ramsay said he believed the new venture held an advantage in the current fast-moving Australian marketplace because of the “consensual models adopted by large traditional managers”.
The group’s hedge fund investment will be provided via Chicago-based HFR Asset Management, which has recently signed on.
“The HFR platform systematically addresses operational risks that have accounted for more than 50 per cent of hedge fund failures.
“We . . . believe that by delivering transparent and concise information, we can satisfy demand from multi-managers and super funds and instil more confidence in hedge fund investment,” said Walden.
Ian Morley and Robert Keane will join Walden and Ramsay in directing the company.
Morley is a prominent member of the European hedge fund community and former adviser to the Bank of England, Central Bank of Ireland, OECD and the EU.
Keane is Dawnay, Day’s corporate development executive.
