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| "We have been sounding out the smaller local authority marketplace and have recognized a demand for a diversified alternatives unit trust" |
Bramdean Asset Management, the proprietor of closed-ended fund Bramdean Alternatives, is planning to launch a new, open-ended fund of alternative assets. Bramdean, with total assets of $258 billion as of August 2007, recently returned client money invested in other assets to focus on alternatives, and the new fund is a way to let investors unable or unwilling to invest in an unfamiliar closed-ended fund to access this asset class. This includes smaller funds and other investors with lower capital levels. "We plan to have a low minimum investment," says Nicola Horlick, chief executive of Bramdean. "The open-ended structure is more familiar to private clients and IFAs than our Bramdean Alternatives Limited, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange." The fund idea is in its early stages but Horlick is planning to use a Ucits III structure. As a Ucits III, the fund will be able to invest in a whole universe of quoted stocks but will remain focused on a limited number of select investments.