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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)
- Eric Bissonnier, Chief Investment Officer, EIM
- Alexandar Pechovitch, co-Founder, DHAULAGIRY Asset Management
- Joe Taussig, Founder, Taussig Capital
- Coast Sullenger, Founder, Managing Partner and Fund Manager, GAIA Capital Advisors
- Louis Zanolin, Partner, ALIX Capital SA
- David Barry, Head of Sales & Marketing Europe & Middle East, Custom House Group
- Cedric van Rijckevorsel, Managing Director, IDS Capital
We want to thank the 2010 Roundtable Series sponsors Custom House Group and Taussig Capital for their support.
Enjoy “listening in” to the 2010 Opalesque Geneva Roundtable (http://www.opalesque.com/RT/RoundtableGeneva2010.html)!
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