Chidem Kurdas
Publicity-shy Grosvenor Capital is seeking regulator approval for the special features of a mutual fund in the works, including exemption from having to disclose fees paid to the advisers and hedge funds that will make investment decisions.
This will be the first foray into the mass market for Grosvenor, well known to institutional clients but not the wider public. The firm is one of the largest fund of funds operators with around $20 billion in assets and a track record going back to 1971.
The request for exemptions from various mutual fund rules suggests Grosvenor may introduce more than one such product, possibly focusing on different investment strategies.
Grosvenor argues that because the fund will routinely allocate its assets to sub-advisors, it should not be required to get shareholder approval for any change in advisors or have to reveal the payments to those advisors.
Another fund of funds manager that recently applied to the regulator for exemptions for a mutual fund is Permal, the hedge fund investment arm of Legg Mason.
The SEC is not expected to oppose the requests because it has granted similar exemptions for other products.
Tags: Legg Mason, Mutual Fund, Regulation, Securities and Exchange Commission
HedgeFundSmarts 
April 30, 2013 at 1:43 pm
[…] only big fund of funds operator to pitch products to retail investors—competitors in this space, Grosvenor and Legg Mason’s hedge fund investment arm, Permal, have also applied to the […]