Hedge and pension funds unite

Date: Friday, February 1, 2008
Author: elizabeth Pfeuti, Global Pensions.com

GLOBAL - Pension plans and hedge fund managers have united to produce the first collaborative guide to investing in hedge funds.

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) brought together representatives from some of the world’s largest pension funds to collate practical information on hedge fund investment.

Alexander Ineichen, senior investment officer, UBS Asset Management, said: “Despite the institutionalisation of the hedge fund industry being in full swing for many years, there is still misconception and myth among some institutional investors and their boards, trustees and consultants.

“This report will be designed to clarify what hedge funds really are and, more importantly, are not.”

The report should be released in early Q2 and, according to AIMA’s investor Steering Committee (ISC), it will focus on best practices for fiduciaries, investment consultants and trustees.

The ISC said the report had been designed to complement the President’s Working Group (PWG) Investor Committee’s work in the same field.

Emma Mugridge, director, AIMA, commented: “We have long acknowledged that investors are a vital part of the hedge fund industry. This is the first time that they have had such a meaningful educational role to play.”

The Californian Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), ABP Fonds de Compensation AVS and Pensionskasse Stadt Zurich have been represented on the committee.

Russell Read, CIO, CalPERS, in his capacity as a member of the PWG, said the two initiatives were complementary: “Nonetheless, it is clear that both initiatives will only be truly worthwhile if they are accepted by, and in turn become common place within the investor community at-large.”