Jersey-based hedge manager Altis Partners has reached USD1bn in assets after doubling its assets under management over the past year and reported a record return of 22 per cent in February

Jersey-based hedge manager Altis Partners has reached USD1bn in assets after doubling its assets under management over the past year and reported a record return of 22 per cent in February.

'We are excited to report assets of over USD1bn, but even more thrilled to be reporting a record month of 22.2 per cent after eight years in the business,' says founding partner Natasha Reeve-Gray.

'This proves a point - it is possible to manage large portfolios when trading more than 100 markets and still be involved in some of the less liquid commodity markets if your approach is right.'

Managed futures specialist Altis has been running its proprietary trading system since 2001, and its flagship Global Futures Portfolio has returned 23.5 per cent on an annualised basis. The firm says it uses advanced technology to apply scientific principles to a diverse portfolio of more than 100 futures markets, ranging from the UK's FTSE 100 companies to orange juice.

At its launch, Altis was staffed by its four founding partners using an automated trading platform, and the company, which now has 27 staff, continues to rely on research effort and scalable IT infrastructure.

'Growth like this is not unusual in our type of business,' says Reeve-Gray. 'We built in a high degree of scalability right from the start, and we are happy to say that we are encountering no capacity issues either with the strategy or with operations.'

Altis Partners attributes its continuing success as its asset volume grows to the system's sophisticated risk management. 'Investors have traditionally valued our ability to maintain a sizeable commodity exposure, and worry about losing it as we take on more assets,' Reeve-Gray says. 'However, our system is sensitive to cross-market correlations that can lead to over-exposure. The bottom line is, if the opportunities look too good to be true, they probably are.'

Altis is aiming to double its assets again in the coming year, and as the firm continues to attract a diverse client set, it foresees no technical limitations standing in the way of reaching the goal of soft-closing the current programme at USD3bn.