Basis Capital Fund Management has hired the Blackstone Group as an advisor after the Australian hedge fund manager was battered by losses in the U.S. subprime mortgage market, reports Bloomberg News. Basis has faced significant losses recently and Blackstone will advise the company “to prevent adverse pricing and selling of assets,” Basis said in a press release yesterday.
The Basis fund averaged an annual return of 15.5% the past five years, until troubles in the U.S. subprime mortgage market shook the company with losses. “The fallout from subprime is likely to impact most asset classes and investment strategies over the next couple of years because the ratings agencies completely goofed up,” said Peter Douglas, the principal and founder of Singapore-based hedge fund research firm GFIA. “Basis Capital is viewed as a bellwether.”