Launches continue: latest Newcits developments

Swiss private bank Clariden Leu and hedge specialists Olympia Capital Management have teamed up to launch a Newcits fund of hedge funds.

The Clariden Leu (Lux) Liquid Alternatives fund will be domiciled in Luxemburg and have dollar, euro and Swiss franc share classes. It will invest primarily in liquid strategies such as equity long/short and global macro with Olympia providing due diligence on the Ucits III compliant funds.

Elsewhere, France based Natixis Alternative Investments has bowed to client pressure and added its first Newcits fund to its SIXTINA hedge fund platform.

The platform, which showcases a range of specially selected hedge funds, will now offer investors access to Ucits III compliant funds.

Offering weekly or monthly liquidity, depending on the complexity of the fund's strategy, the SIXTINA Managed Funds are valued independently and provide additional protection to investors against fraud, style drift, excessive risk (including leverage) and incorrect valuations, the firm said.

Meanwhile, AXA Investment Managers is planning to launch a diversified fund of Newcits funds at the beginning of next year. The offering will be aimed at institutional clients and private banks that cannot invest in the firm’s offshore range of funds.

‘We believe that the product will be attractive for unit-linked businesses within the AXA Group insurance companies as well as for other investors like pension funds that can’t invest in our existing Irish-domiciled fund of hedge funds business,’ said a spokesperson for the firm.

The assets in the fund will comprise of mostly equity, fixed income and currencies with less of a focus on distressed, illiquid assets.