Alternative Market Briefing

Kurt Billick launching Bocage Global Resources fund in Q4 2010

Wednesday, September 08, 2010

From Kirsten Bischoff, Opalesque New York:

Opalesque has learned that Kurt Billick, formerly of Caxton Associates, launched San Francisco-based Bocage Capital. The firm is currently in pre-launch phase for its first fund The Bocage Global Resources Fund, a market neutral commodity focused strategy targeted to launch in Q4 2010.

The strategy will replicate the approach to investing that Billick utilized when he ran a $400mm book at Caxton. His experience with this strategy also includes a five-year stint at UBS running a prop book for that firm.

Billick's current outlook on the global commodities markets includes a bullish view on the prospects for platinum group metals (PGMs), especially palladium, however he is cautious regarding the business prospects of the South African companies that represent most of the listed PGM related equities.

"Unlike almost every other commodity, the PGMs remain below their marginal cost of supply despite a substantial deficit in supply," he said in late August. "This is especially true in the palladium market which has relied on Russian stockpile sales (which have not largely ceased) for many years to fill the supply gap. At the same time the South African mining industry, the key supplier of PGMs, remains plagued by productivity, safety, and licensing issues which will keep costs high and new supply limited."

Joining Billick at Bocage is COO Peter Ashby w......................

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