Lawrence Asset Management, a Toronto-based fund manager with USD700 million under management, is looking to partner up with a dealer to help it expand its structured fund business outside of Canada. Lawrence has built up expertise in offering tax-efficient exposure to hedge funds through swaps over the last four years. Swap-based deals account for half its assets under management and the firm is now looking to expand globally.
Ravi Sood, president and coo, said the booming commodities market has made the firm's funds--which specialize in Canadian companies and securities--attractive. "For the first time in a long time people actually care."
Sood declined to specify the new regions the group is looking to move into, but noted it is looking for dealers with experience preparing Shariah-compliant instruments. He said Lawrence is working on writing a swap on a fund to target this new client base and said it will invest in Canadian securities. Lawrence wants to select a counterparty in the next month, because it plans to launch the fund in January. The planned swap deal, which Sood said has a tax feature, has a target size of CAD150-200 million (USD134-179 million) which would be its second largest so far.
Citigroup is a frontrunner, said Sood, noting the U.S. house has aggressively marketed itself to Lawrence. National Bank Financial has also impressed with its Shariah knowledge. Lawrence has historically worked with CIBC on local fund-linked deals, he noted.
