•  
• Tweet
•  
•        Print
•  
•         Track Keywords
•  
• 

By Beverly Chandler, Opalesque London:

Interviewed recently on Opalesque TV, Martin Litwak, a leading hedge funds and alternatives lawyer based in Argentina, explained that the hedge fund business in South America is largely driven by high net worth families and institutions.

Litwak had seen little interest in alternatives from middle market investors but a great number of family offices and their investment advisors have been focussing on hedge funds, particularly those from Brazil, Chile and Buenos Aires. Litwak has mostly worked on the formation of hedge funds, most commonly those targeting emerging markets. The largest appetite for hedge funds comes from Argentina, Brazil, Columbia and Peru, he says. In terms of in-bound investment, Litwak believes that Brazil is the greatest beneficiary of new hedge fund money.

Another distinguishing characteristic of the region is that investors like to use financial advisors. "What you see in the region is people trust their independent financial advisors more than institutions and these advisors whether they are pure advisors or a family office type of business are the ones allocating the investment into different alternatives" says Litwak.

Unlike the European model, traditional institutions like banks have not stepped up to offer alternatives. "They try to sell their own products" says Litwak. "In Latin Americ......................

To view our full article Click here