F&C Alternative Investments, the single strategy hedge fund division of F&C Asset Management plc, has opened F&C Citrine Fund for new investment.
The fund, which is managed by Frederic Desage-Bonnet and pursues a Pan-European equity long/short strategy, will be targeted at institutional investors including hedge fund of funds.
“Through our award-winning equity volatility trading fund, F&C Amethyst, we have already set out our ambitions to become a significant institutional provider of Hedge Funds,” explained Alex Ingham Clark, director of F&C Alternative Investments, at a press briefing in London.
“This fund raising is an important development for the business because it demonstrates our commitment to build upon our existing presence in the derivatives-based hedge fund arena into one of the more ‘mainstream’, and highly competitive, segments of the hedge fund market,” he said.
This will be the first major fund raising drive for F&C Citrine which was launched in May 2004 and currently has GBP48 million of assets. The fund, which is Cayman Islands domiciled and listed on the Irish Stock Exchange, has a target absolute return of 10-12% per annum with a target Sharpe Ratio above 1. Over the last year the fund is up 11.47% and has a Sharpe Ratio of 3.70.