Hedge fund advisory firm expands in London

The firm says its expansion - it currently has seven staff, including four investment professionals - has been driven by strong growth in business from banks and hedge fund firms. IGS offers outsourced, independent advice and assistance to the alternatives community in the US and Europe, including both product providers and investors, in areas such as infrastructure, brand-building, distribution and product development.

IGS provides advisory, distribution and portfolio development and management services for hedge funds, fund of funds and related business partners and intermediaries, including technical advice on product and platform construction, marketing of hedge funds, and guidance on different regulatory jurisdictions, through three related operating divisions, IGS Advisory, IGS Distribution and IGS Portfolio.

Michael Romanek has been appointed executive director of IGS Advisory and will focus on devising optimised financing and infrastructure solutions for hedge fund firms. He was previously director of alternative investments at Fortis, where he was active in providing unbundled services, deal flow and allocation/distribution to single and multi-strategy hedge funds. Romanek was also responsible for Fortis's business development in Europe, especially regarding financing, custody and administration services to hedge fund clients.

Michael F. Green, who joins as executive director of IGS Portfolio, will concentrate on delivering multi-asset solutions to clients ensuring a holistic approach to alternative asset investing and the harmonisation of investments in hedge funds, private equity, property and other asset classes. He was previously head of manager and funds research at Barclays' wealth management division, where he was instrumental in developing the bank's open architecture business and multi-manager platform.

IGS, which already has a centre for back office and support operations in Kingswood, Surrey, has also formally opened its offices at Adams Street in London's West End. All of the firm's investment professionals will be based in central London.

Says Godden: 'There appears to be a gap in the provision of high quality, independent advice to alternative asset product providers and investors. The addition of Green and Romanek to the IGS team will enable us to better meet out clients' demands for expertise in the two important areas of fund financing and cross-asset investing.'