GLG announces Ucits version of global macro fund

GLG Partners is launching the GLG Atlas Macro Alternative Fund, an Irish-domiciled Ucits-compliant version of its global macro hedge fund.

The Ucits fund will be managed by Driss Ben-Brahim and GLG's chief investment strategist Jamil Baz, targeting an average annual net return of 10%-15% with annualised volatility of 10%-15%.

The strategy will be broadly similar to the Cayman-domiciled GLG Atlas Macro Fund. It will make investments globally across all classes of financial instruments including equities, indexes, currencies, and fixed income. The strategy's thematic trade expressions will be mainly liquid and limited in number to avoid excessive portfolio complexity.

The Atlas fund is the eighth Ucits-compliant fund to be launched by GLG since July 2009. The company now runs around $1.5 billion in assets under management (AUM) in Ucits funds.

The new fund will charge a 2% management fee and 20% performance fee with a minimum institutional investment of $1 million. There is also a retail share class with a minimum investment of $1,000.

The Atlas fund will also be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange.

GLG co-head of marketing Raffaele Costa said Ucits restrictions meant the fund would not "exactly mirror" the offshore version. However, Costa said it would be "a good proxy" for the existing fund.

GLG shareholders are due to vote this week on the proposed takeover by the Man Group. The merger would create the world's largest hedge fund management company with over $63 billion AUM. GLG shareholder approval is the last remaining requirement for the deal to go through.