january 14, 2008 -NARA Capital SA officially opened its doors for business on October 1, 2007 with a vision focused on offering sophisticated institutional investors access to New Alternative hedge funds strategies. The firm founded by two seasoned investment professionals will launch a series of funds of hedge funds specialized in emerging and under-researched investment themes such as trade finance, asset based lending and investing, physical commodities trading, shipping and weather derivatives as well as insurance linked and risk-transfer strategies.
Dominique Grandchamp and Louis Zanolin, the two founding partners have extensive experience in the field of hedge funds investments and New Alternative strategies. Prior to founding NARA Capital, Mr. Grandchamp was co-managing a large fund of hedge funds broadly invested in asset based lending strategies for a Swiss based Fund of Hedge Funds where Mr. Zanolin served as Managing Partner, Senior Hedge fund advisor and Member of the Investment Committee.
NARA Capital received the backing from a group of European based family offices wishing to gain exposure to New Alternative strategies through a specialized and experienced team. They seeded the first product which focuses on asset based lending strategies.
Dominique Grandchamp, Managing Partner, says:
“Regulatory changes coupled with the current situation in the credit market will force companies to look for alternative type of financing such as assets based lending which will increasingly be provided by hedge funds rather than banks. We strongly believe that the emergence of New Alternatives is only at its beginning and that the trend will continue for many years to come. NARA is a specialized boutique fully committed to this space.”
Louis Zanolin, Managing Partner, says:
“We are very pleased with the support we received from the group of family offices. They have seeded our first fund and are fully committed to New Alternatives and to support us along our growth path. This allows us to concentrate on managing the portfolios and consolidate our infrastructure. It is our intention to gradually open the fund to selected institutional investors as the portfolio reaches its mature size.”
NARA Capital:
Nara Capital is a leading, independent advisory and investment management firm specialized in New Alternatives. Founded in 2007, Nara Capital is headquartered in Geneva and employs a team of seasoned professionals with significant research and investment experience. The firm manages a range of portfolios and customized mandates for sophisticated institutional investors who seek exposure to “New Alternatives” but lack the expertise to do so internally.
New Alternatives:
New Alternatives are less crowded investment themes which offer higher alpha generation potential than most “traditional” investment styles while exhibiting low, if any, correlation to the traditional financial markets. New Alternatives are under-researched niche strategies which encompass a broad and diversified spectrum of investment styles such as asset based lending, asset based investing, physical commodities, insurance linked and risk transfer strategies as well as many other investment opportunities which are off the beaten path of most investors.
About the Partners:
Dominique Grandchamp, CFA,
Prior to co-founding NARA Capital in October 2007, Mr. Grandchamp was a Portfolio Manager and Senior Analyst for Peak Partners SA (formerly Harcourt Partners Ltd), a Geneva based fund of hedge funds. Mr. Grandchamp was managing the firm’s allocation to Asset Based Lending, Asset Based Investing and Insurance Linked strategies. Mr. Grandchamp was appointed to the Executive Committee of several of the company’s Funds. From 2002 to 2007 Mr. Grandchamp headed the Quantitative Analysis Department for Harcourt Investment Consulting AG, one of the largest Fund of Hedge Funds in Switzerland. Mr. Grandchamp started his career as an auditor and financial consultant for PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Dominique Grandchamp holds a Master’s Degree in Finance and Economics from the University of Basel, Switzerland. Mr. Grandchamp also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Louis Zanolin, CAIA,
Prior to co-founding NARA Capital in October 2007, Mr. Zanolin was Managing Partner at Peak Partners SA (formerly Harcourt Partners SA), a Geneva based fund of hedge funds. He served as member of the Investment Committee and was also in charge of Client Advisory. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Zanolin worked as Hedge Fund Analyst with Agora Capital in Geneva, where he was in charge of Hedge Fund Research. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Zanolin started his career by co-founding an investment advisory firm which launched a fund of hedge funds specialized in CTA managers.
Mr. Zanolin holds a Bachelor Degree in Engineering from the Engineering School of Geneva and a Degree in Quantitative Portfolio Management from the University of Geneva. Mr. Zanolin also holds the Chartered Alternative Investments Analyst (CAIA) designation.
Contact Details :
Louis Zanolin
NARA Capital SA
67 Rue du Rhône
1207 Geneva
Switzerland
Direct Phone: +41 22 787 29 11
Email : zanolin@naracapital.ch
