Eiger Asset Management is planning to launch four coffee-related funds, comprising two index tracker funds, a hedge fund and a vehicle investing in the physical commodity.

Eiger Asset Management is planning to launch four coffee-related funds, comprising two index tracker funds, a hedge fund and a vehicle investing in the physical commodity.

Eiger is being assisted by London-based alternative investment consultancy firm Laven Partners.

Eiger is to launch tracker funds, one long and one short, that will follow the International Coffee Organization composite index. The trackers will trade coffee through derivatives and futures and offer investors a highly liquid strategy at a low cost.

A physical commodity-based fund, the Eiger Green Coffee Fund, will provide Islamic investors with access to this asset type using fully compliant Islamic financing methods.

A total return fund, the Alpha Fund, will manage long/short exposure to hedged physicals purchases and sales, inter-market spreads and volatility arbitrage, as well as a capped directional component.

Eiger Trading Advisors will act as investment adviser to Eiger Asset Management, which is domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Laven Partners and its affiliated law firm Lussan have provided consultancy and legal services, including advising on the Financial Services Authority authorisation of Eiger Trading Advisors.

Jerome de Lavenère Lussan, managing director, Laven Partners, says: 'We are always keen to work with funds which are doing something that stands out. Investing in soft commodities requires an all-encompassing understanding of the industry in which you trade, from crop forecasts to production and distribution. Eiger is offering investors a broad choice in how they access the team's expertise.'

Bart Mauldin, senior investment adviser, Eiger Trading Advisors, says: 'There is a strong and growing demand for physicals based commodity funds, particularly within the agricultural sector. The family of Eiger coffee strategies represent an attractive opportunity to invest in a tangible and highly liquid asset type, and leverage our successful commodity trading business model into a first class institutional fund management structure. We hope these launches will enable us to rapidly grow our assets under management.

'The Tracker Funds are designed to give asset allocators a new and highly liquid asset to invest in. With the Green Coffee Fund we aim to deliver returns of around 12 per cent per annum and the Alpha Fund has a targeted return of 15 per cent. We are confident that we have the experience and in depth knowledge to enable us to deliver on these objectives.'