Capital Raising wisdom from Absolute Return

- Andrew

I read everything I receive. In the Hedge Fund world there were two monthlies that provided interesting, in depth articles on hedge funds – Alpha and Absolute Return. Now there are one as Absolute Return will be rebranded AR-Alpha.

I enjoy Absolute Return and always learn something. The team is top-notch and asks tough questions. The July issue offers some insight into the new launches of the year – why they launched and the marketing environment they enter.

The annual Absolute Return, “New Funds Survey” is out with some interesting data and insights on the capital raising environment.

Data:

-       2008 – top 10 new launches had cumulatively $16.6 billion

whereas

-       2009 – top 10 new launches had cumulatively $3.2 billion

Soundbites:

“The exclusivity marketing has fallen away. Both new funds and olf funds are more willing to talk about a level of transparency. They’re spending more time with us on how to structure their funds and discussing more of their strategies.”

“We are detecting a thaw in investor behavior.”

“In 2006 nobody cared if you had the best compliance and risk controls. But post-Madoff and post-Lehman, it matters tremendously.”