Gottex Fund Management, an independent global alternative asset management group, has combined client assets of USD8.6 billion as at 31 March 2014, compared to USD8.1 billion at 31 December 2013.

Combined fee earning assets were up 14 per cent during the quarter when excluding platform assets, primarily as a result of client subscriptions, particularly in advisory mandates.
 
The company received shareholder approval for the Gottex EIM transaction at Gottex’s annual general meeting (AGM) held on 16 April 2014, as well as FCA approval. Completion is now subject to approval by FINMA, the Swiss regulatory authority.
 
Gottex’s bond substitute market neutral product line posted positive performance of 1.8 per cent YTD, net of all fees, outperforming its benchmark by 0.8 per cent.
 
Its alternative credit strategy returned 3.4 per cent during Q1 and 8.8 per cent on a 12 month rolling base, while its equity product returned 3.5 per cent during the first quarter.
 
HS Group, the company’s Hong-Kong based Asian hedge fund seeding joint venture, has made its first investment into a new hedge fund, Pleiad Investment Advisors, set up by the former China and Japan specialists at Soros Fund Management.
 
Joachim Gottschalk, chairman and CEO, says: “Volatile equity markets and a surprisingly strong bond performance characterised the investment markets for the first quarter. Our hedge fund and alternative investments performed very well and we continue to anticipate increased allocation from institutional and retail investors into the alternative investment sector. In that light, we are pleased to see an increase in our asset base during the first quarter, predominantly through advisory mandates won in the APAC region.
 
“We are happy to report that the substantial majority of our shareholders at the AGM held on 16 April approved the issuance of 14 million new shares in the company for the completion of the transaction with EIM. We anticipate the deal to close by the end of May, subject to approval by FINMA, the Swiss financial regulator.”