Apex Fund Services has opened an office in Montevideo, Uruguay in order to support hedge fund managers targeting the Latin American markets.
Apex Uruguay will offer similar services to the Apex Miami office, which opened in June 2012 to support US hedge fund managers business in LatAm. The hedge fund markets in LatAm have grown considerably in the last 10 years in line with the expansion of the regions economies. Eurekahedge figures form April 2011 saw assets reach a high of $64.2 billion. Returns averaged 2.84 in 2011 compared to negative returns in Europe, North America, Eastern Europe and Russia, Japan, Asia ex-Japan and other emerging markets.
Hedge fund allocations are increasing across LatAm with investors seeing relative value in Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, with Brazil the fundamental growth driver for the region. Chile has a sophisticated pension fund market and an advanced retail fund management while Mexico has an important retail pension fund market and increasingly retail fund market. Additionally Panama is a thriving offshore jurisdiction with growing opportunities.
The opening of the Apex Uruguay office also coincides with the second anniversary of the Mercados Integrados Latinoamericanos (MILA), the regions integrated capital markets trading platform that links the stock exchanges of Chile, Colombia, Peru and shortly Mexico, Panama and Costa Rica. MILA creates greater liquidity for investors and increases the number of investment opportunities, thereby attracting greater foreign interest to the region.
Peter Hughes, group managing director, Apex Fund Services, said: Apexs total fund solutions are now available in every continent in the world. Our global reach, local presence strategy is now reaching deep into LatAm as Apexs full range of fund products and services are made available to both local and offshore fund managers.
Keith Mahon, managing director, Apex Fund Services (Uruguay), added: Apexs arrival to Uruguay brings the potential for the phasing out of in-house accounting and reporting via Excel in favour of Apexs transparent, cost effective and accurate technologies.
(JDC)