A former manager of a Bear Stearns hedge fund that wound done last year has established a UK asset management firm that hopes to lure investors from the fund to his new company, Financial News reports.
Richard Werner previously worked at Bear Stearns Asset Management and managed the Bear Stearns Global Alpha fund, which launched in February 2006.
The fund, which held $35m at its peak, wound down at the end of last year after Bear Stearns’ tarnished reputation resulted in investors shying away from supporting the firm’s funds, according to Werner, who hopes that investors in the fund might shift their assets to be managed at his new company Providence Asset Management.
Bear Stearns did not return calls for comment.
The UK’s Financial Services Authority approved the creation of Providence last month, opening the way for it to launch funds for UK and other European retail investors.
Providence is based in Winchester in the UK, has already received mandates from Austrian private bank Spaengler and Japanese firm Aizawa Securities to run funds expected to hold over $60m (€39m) after they launch within the next six months.
Most of the firm’s administrative functions will be outsourced until it grows large enough to run its own functions, Werner says.
He will manage the funds by investing assets in derivatives and financial instruments to gain exposure to markets, rather than by holding individual equities and corporate bonds.
Werner says: “Most people analyze markets on a macroeconomic level by analyzing central banks’ interest rate policies. A better way to analyze and forecast market moves is by analyzing credit creation and the amount of money in circulation.”
Aside from his work at Providence, Werner holds the chair in international banking at the University of Southampton’s school of management and has held advisory positions at a number of Japanese institutions including the Ministry of Finance and the Bank of Japan.