One of the main European hedge fund platforms has confirmed that it is dropping some of its funds registered offshore, in jurisdictions such as in Luxembourg and Jersey, as more and more pension funds call for safer and more regulated investments.
Lyxor Asset Management, which runs a US$19bn hedge funds platform from Paris, has reduced the number of offshore funds in its portfolio with many now shuttered completely or converted to onshore UCITS structures.
A spokesperson for Lyxor confirmed the changes and told International Investment that it believes that refocusing the company’s resources on alternative UCITS will assist in its bid to double its assets under management at the firm across the next five years.
Jersey funds closure
“We confirm that we have closed a select number of Jersey funds, accounting for a limited amount of Lyxor’s Jersey platform assets under management,” the spokesperson said.
“This is in line with Lyxor’s strategic goal of refocusing its multi-management expertise and resources on alternative UCITS, which have become the vehicle of choice for European investors on the back of strong demand.”
“We continue to see significant interest in our alternatives capabilities and expect to expand significantly in the alternative UCITS segment, with the aim of doubling our AuM in this space in the next 5 years.
Open architecture
The spokesperson added that despite the closures, the company still believes that offshore funds “remain attractive” in the context of Lyxor’s open architecture offering and serve to meet the specific needs of some of our clients.
Lyxor, which is owned by French bank Societe Generale, has already doubled assets under management in UCITS hedge funds to €2.5bn over the last three years. It currently has 11 UCITS funds, but will grow the number to 20 by 2019.
