MAN releases new hedge fund on Romanian market

Anglo-Swiss financial group MAN, one of the world’s leading alternative investment management companies, has recently launched a new investment product, MAN Global Strategies Diversified (MGSD) on the international market.

The product is also aimed at the Romanian market, where MAN Investments has been represented by Swiss Investment Board Romania (SIBR) since last year, a company that handles promotion of MAN product-related shares.

MAN, through SIBR, is the first company to have offered the Romanian investors the possibility to buy shares in an alternative investment product (hedge fund) a few months ago.

SIBR representatives say the decision to bring the new MAN product to the Romanian market, as well, is due the success of the previous product release in June. MAN at that time managed to raise $740 million worldwide.

“The local participation attracted by the latest product launched and the positive investor sentiment generated by this guaranteed capital investment opportunity encourages us to proceed with the promotion of alternative investment products,” Eros Grandi, SIBR president, told Ziarul Financiar.

The minimal investment in the latest MAN product is 50,000 dollars or euros, while the annual expected yield of the shares is 13-15%. Subscription is open until October 3, 2003.

What does an alternative investment product have that the traditional investment funds do not? Unlike traditional funds investing in shares, monetary instruments or bonds, the management of a hedge fund’s assets is very flexible in order to provide little alignment with the international stock market indicators trend and a very tight risk management. An alternative investment product can benefit from both the rise and decline of the markets, which traditional investment funds cannot. In other words, when the stock market shows growth potential, the manager of an alternative product may decide to buy. If, on the other hand, the manager feels the market is falling, they may decide to open short positions. The short positions entail the sale of shares the seller does not yet hold at a price set upon the conclusion of the contract. Profit is made if the shares go down, are purchased at a lower price and then resold at the price set in the contract, which is higher.

Subsequently, whereas a stock market fund either loses or makes money in line with the rise and the fall of the markets, an alternative product can derive profit from both trends.

Such a product may also invest in shares, fixed-income instruments, currency, metal and commodity futures and convertible bonds. The weight of each investment in the total varies depending on the opportunities.

Alternative investment products have enjoyed more and more success worldwide over the last few years, amid stock markets decline, so that whereas they were worth $30-$40bn in 1990, they have now come to total $600bn. MAN is currently managing over $28bn worldwide.
laurentiu.ispir@zf.ro