WEST PALM BEACH, FL (www.hedgeco.net) – New Mutual funds investments offering hedge fund strategies are now available to some pension fund managers. According to released reports, Newport Group andLake Partners have just unveiled a new fund which will allow pension fund managers to invest in such strategies. The new strategy is called LASSO fund, which stands for Long and Short StrategicOpportunities. The fund is simply a collection of mutual funds utilizing selected hedge fund strategies for trading purposes.
The new strategy is now available to some 401 K retirement plans. Mendel Melzer, Newport’s chief investment officer said, “There is an increasing demand for additional investment strategies from all types of investors, from foundations and other institutions through corporate retirement and defined-benefit plans. We think that there is, and will be, similar demand from 401(k) investors�.
Some mutual fund companies in the past have tried to manage their own hedge funds, but industry analysts believe such scenario may lead to conflicts of interest. The LASSO funds charge 1.3% for annual management fees at the fund of funds level, and another 1.7% annual fees at the mutual fund level according to Melzer. LASSO funds do not carry mandatory minimum investment requirements as hedge funds do, and Melzer also explained that LASSO funds will be valued daily.
Melzer also said, “Importantly, all LASSO investments will also be subject to the normal regulatory oversight of mutual funds,� adding, “Some Newport clients have an asset allocation of between 8% and 14% of their portfolio in these strategies.� According to the report, Newport has already invested about $32 million for its clients in portfolios managed by Lake Partners.
Paul Oranika
Editor-in-Chief
HedgeCo.Net
Email: Editor@hedgeco.net
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