Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKw) says it has expanded the range of services its prime brokerage group supplies to hedge funds.
DrKW says it can now support funds’ trading activities in fixed income, foreign exchange and listed derivative products (including options, CFDs and total return swaps), in addition to the traditional stock lending, financing and custody services offered to hedge funds pursuing equity strategies. The bank adds that it has created a single infrastructure for account management, margin netting and consolidated reporting across all instruments.
“We want to work with hedge fund clients on a management company/multi asset class basis and to deliver an integrated and efficient product in doing so,” says Martin Keller, Head of DrKWs International Prime Brokerage business. “Regardless of trading strategy, clients can deal with one account manager here there is no need to access different desks within the bank for any post-trade related aspects. We also provide a one-stop shop from a risk management, funding and data management perspective.”
DrKW has already signed up a number of Macro Hedge Funds – including Arsago, Abraxus and Colchester – on to its expanded platform, but is confident the new services will increase their number. “Our diversified approach puts us in a new generation of Prime Brokers,” says Keller. “We can cater to hedge funds across the size and strategy spectrum yet at the same time provide a highly client focused service and be flexible to market trends.”
Erich Pohl, Global Co-Head of Capital Markets at DrKW, says the new services underline the fact that the German investment bank is fully committed to the prime brokerage business. The investment and substantial coordination effort involved for DrKW to reach this point highlights our overall commitment to the hedge fund community and reflects our desire to grow our franchise within this important client constituency in which Prime Brokerage occupies a central position,” he says. The comprehensive offering of our Prime Brokerage platform will position us well to assist hedge funds in Germany as this market opens up from next year.”
DrKW launched its Prime Brokerage platform in July 2002 and now offers services across all asset classes from traditional Equity Prime Brokerage to Fixed Income, FX and Listed Products. It has a 25 strong Prime Brokerage team working with 25 single manager and fund-of-fund clients of various sizes and strategies. The core services provided by DrKW include margin lending/portfolio financing; securities lending; custody services; account risk/margin management; execution and consolidated reporting; and cross margining.