Gartmore will launch a long/short U.K.-based hedge fund in November, which will use over-the-counter derivatives. Martin Phipps, head of hedge funds in London, said "the fund's guidelines are [not] restrictive." The fund, dubbed AlphaGen Avior, will likely use contracts for differences to trade U.K. listed shares as well as over-the-counter puts and calls. But he does not envisage it will make extensive use of the options and declined to give an example of a typical strategy. He added "this is a stock picking portfolio, it is about keeping it simple and picking winners and losers."
Phipps said it decided to launch the fund now as part of its plan to roll out a range of hedge funds. It already has four long/short equity hedge funds covering the European large and small cap market, the Japanese market and the Pacific and emerging markets. Gartmore is based in the U.K. and is therefore in a strong position to both raise capital and invest, he added. UBS Warburg is the prime broker for the fund. Phipps said it will close the fund at USD250-300 million. A spokesman at UBS did not return calls.
