BGI wins hedge fund mandate
Barclays Global Investors(BGI) has scored a $7 million mandate to manage money on behalf of superannuation investors through its newly launched hedge fund, the BGI Equity Market Neutral Fund.
The mandate, from hospitality industry superannuation fundHost Super, is believed to be the first investment by an Australian superannuation fund into a stand-alone, as opposed to a multi-manager, Australian equity market neutral fund.
The investment in the fund, which invests both long and short in Australian shares, is the first since BGI’s launch of the fund last August.
Host Super chief executive Bob Stephens says the BGI fund’s long/short investment process creates opportunities for the superannuation scheme to achieve higher than expected returns.
“The market-neutral aspect of the hedge fund is also an important risk control measure,” Stephens says.
The fund, which has returned 14.5 per cent since its inception in August, aims to return 8 per cent per annum above the cash rate with a tracking error of 5 per cent and achieve a net exposure of zero to equities.
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