Company briefs
SYZ & Co gets serious about hedge funds advice
The Swiss banking group SYZ & Co has set up a unit dedicated to advising private clients on hedge funds. The Hedge Fund Advisory Group will comprise three people, including its head, SYZ & Co vice president Roberto Almaleh. The bank’s alternative investment division, Alternative Asset Advisors, has launched a multi-class leveraged fund of hedge funds called 3A Windrider. On the long-only side, SYZ has selected Bill Wilby, senior investment officer at Oppenheimer funds, to run its E125m Oyster World Opportunities Fund.
BSL offloads German fund of funds to Crédit Agricole
Crédit Agricole Asset Management has been hired to run a fund of funds distributed in Germany. BSL Asset Management has outsourced the management of Techtum Dachfonds to Agricole in order to concentrate on its core business of investment advice, according to a BSL spokesman. The product, which is sold through the German IFA network of DMS Deutsche Maklerservice and Finanzplan Fonds-Marketing, will be renamed CA-AM Techtum.
Life companies ensure spread of open architecture
The number of unit-linked funds supplied by third parties will increase from 12 per cent to 22 per cent in Europe, according Cerulli Associates. The rise will be driven by the growth of life insurance companies as a distribution channel.
Roemer takes over as CEO of CSAM Europe
Peter Roemer has been appointed CEO of Credit Suisse Asset Management Europe. He replaces Henry Wegmann. Mr Roemer joins from Credit Suisse First Boston, where he was head of Germany and head of equities, Frankfurt. This follows the departure of CSFB vice-chairman Jeff Peek.
