Boutique to ease secondary trading of hedge funds

A boutique company designed to help investors keen to take advantage of opportunities provided by illiquid hedge funds has been launched in London.

Gamma Finance, based in London, will facilitate secondary market investments in illiquid hedge funds by introducing investors and sourcing opportunities in the market.

It was founded by Deutsche Bank's former head of structured equity sales, Florian de Sigy, and Javier Rodriguez, previously senior strategist and head of strategic accounts for Barclays Global Investors' client solutions group.

De Sigy told Hedge Funds Review the pair had seen a chance in an under-served market, particularly compared to the private equity industry where there were more players in the secondary market sphere. He said opportunities had been created by large numbers of gates and side pockets created during the financial crisis.

Gamma estimates the universe of hedge funds that could benefit from its service would have around $10 billion in assets under management.

The company will primarily introduce hedge funds to potential investors, leaving it to the two parties to arrange the details of any trades. Gamma will not directly complete transations, acting as a matchmaker. It is positioning itself as an alternative to the online secondary trading marketplace.

He said Gamma Finance would build its team as necessary.

Potential investors ino the illiquid funds are expected to be mainly from financial institutions and private banks, according to De Sigy.