Art Vinokur Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:
"There is a new push for increased presence of alternative strategies in the retail markets, with the hope that retail will be the next big source of growth for a number of strategies," said Art Vinokur, Managing Director at K2 Advisors, a global provider of hedge fund solutions, during the recent Opalesque Connecticut Roundtable.
Access to alternatives through regulated products or listed structures would not only help reach the retail market, he added; it would also reach a wider segment of the institutional investors community.
"If we do want hedge funds or alternative investments broadly to become a replacement for the 40% of institutional portfolios currently invested in bonds, it likely needs to be accessed in a standardized form with proper governance, risk
management, and regulatory oversight, while preserving some of the alpha generating
capabilities and diversification benefits of alternative strategies," he noted.
Damien Zinck, who is in charge of the Buy Side Business Development for Eurex, pointed to the challenge of combining the oversight and retail client protection aspects of mutual funds together with the flexibility and variety of instruments used by hedge funds. That could be achieved however, he added, mentioning UCITS funds in Europe as a real example.
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