Paris-based investment manager, Bernheim Dreyfus, ventured into the Newcits space last week by launching a UCITS III-compliant fund that will focus on mergers and acquisitions.PARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Paris-based investment manager, Bernheim Dreyfus, ventured into the Newcits space last week by launching a UCITS III-compliant fund that will focus on mergers and acquisitions. The decision to launch the onshore M&A fund was in response to investor demands for greater liquidity and transparency – the two main pillars of UCITS – in this area of market activity. Entitled the Diva Synergy (Ucits) fund, it seeks to replicate the firm’s Diva Synergy event-driven hedge fund, which last year returned an impressive 27 per cent. It is regulated by the French Financial Authority. The fund commenced trading with initial capital of USD10million. The aim is to grow this to USD100million within twelve months. Amit Shabi, a partner at Bernheim Dreyfus expects the volume of M&A activity to increase throughout 2011, commenting: “We’re forecasting global deal activity to increase by as much as 40 per cent, by comparison to 2010.” Further expanding on why the firm launched the fund, Shabi added: “During the financial crisis it became clear that many hedge funds were not in line with investors’ expectations in terms of liquidity and transparency. The Diva Synergy (Ucits) fund will offer transparency and liquidity as we respond to investor requirements for products which conform with the EU Directive.’’ Shabi manages the Diva Synergy hedge fund alongside Lionel Melka.