Geneva remains one of the favourite destinations for financiers – whether they be in private banking, trade finance, commodity trading, pension funds, family offices, private investors, or in the hedge fund industry – especially, it seems, in funds of hedge funds. This tightly-knit community has not stopped expanding in the last few years, despite the severe set-backs it suffered during the credit crisis and the
Madoff scandal.
There are now around 22 hedge fund firms in Geneva and nearby Vaud, some of which being client facing subsidiaries to communicate with investors in place. Geneva hosts many funds of hedge funds but it is also a “hot spot” for single hedge funds, according Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW). Even if the
later are still not in great numbers, many expect this to change.
Geneva is where Brevan Howard and BlueCrest moved recently. Many will say the strongest attractions of this place (and the rest of Switzerland) are the quality of life, the tax environment and it being outside the European Union.
Eight experts gathered at our 2010 Geneva Roundtable and discussed the following topics:
Why gold and agriculture might be good places to invest
Why managed accounts and platforms are so popular with investors
What the problem with the low expected real rate of return is
What some of the ways to limit drawdowns are
Why it has been so difficult for hedge funds to raise capital
What are the misconceptions about Geneva
Where Geneva’s finance industry is heading
The Roundtable took place in December 2010 at the offices of GAIA Capital and was attended by:
Jamil Ismail, Partner and Head of Distribution, IPM Informed Portfolio Management (IPM)
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