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Damien Hatfield Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque Geneva:

Raising money out of Australia is no child’s play, but according to delegates at the recent Opalesque Australia Roundtable, it can be done and it can be very beneficial.

Ascalon has actively been seeking partners to take advantage of its parent, Westpac Bank’s distribution channels, which owns a number of branded institutions, said Damien Hatfield, Head of Sales for Ascalon Capital, a third party marketing firm. At the moment, Ascalon is negotiating with an offshore fund manager, a $10 billion Asian fund manager, to be their distribution partner, with an initial focus on registered fund distribution in Australia.

"If an offshore fund manager wants to access the Australian marketplace and they approach us, the very first thing that we do is to go to the retail-aligned dealer groups within Westpac, specifically BT Financial Group," he said. "After presenting we look to feedback as to the retail or channel salability of that manager."

That can be the kiss of death, he added. If they don’t satisfy certain criteria, they won’t go forward. There are a couple of criteria to look for. One is liquidity, as retail platforms require daily liquidity. Another is fees, which can be lower than average.

"What we tend to find is that if a manager cannot cope with those two major constraints – fees and daily liquidity – then they are not goin......................

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