WSJ.com – Swiss money manager GAM Holding AG GAM.EB +1.81% is in advanced negotiations to acquire a New Jersey hedge-fund firm, the latest example of growing interest in alternative investments among large firms.<\/p>\n
GAM, with about $129 billion under management, could close a deal for Summit-based Singleterry Mansley Asset Management Co. LLC, which runs the Beachwood Total Return Fund, as early as this week, people briefed on the discussions said.<\/p>\n
The five-year-old Beachwood fund has posted strong performance, and hasn’t had a down year, investor documents indicate. But founders Gary Singleterry, a former punter for the Harvard University football team, and Tom Mansley have been less successful in raising much more beyond its roughly $400 million base, according to the documents.<\/p>\n
A deal with GAM would include an agreement for the pair to continue running the fund and its strategy, which encompasses credit and other fixed-income investments, while turning over marketing efforts to the far larger Zurich-based GAM, two of the people said.<\/p>\n