In April, we were pleased to announce the appointment of Chris Goekjian as Chief Investment Officer ("CIO"). As CIO, Chris has taken overall responsibility for the risk management of all Cheyne-managed funds and investment products, the oversight of portfolio management teams, and the development of new investment products. Prior to joining Cheyne, Chris was Founder and CIO of Altedge Capital (UK) Ltd, and previously spent 10 years at Credit Suisse, where he was head of the Global Fixed Income Division, a member of the Executive Board, and had overall responsibility for over US$ 300 billion of trading positions and over 100 traders worldwide. Chris's appointment is an important strategic addition to our investment and risk management capabilities.
We are proud of our fixed income expertise, investing across the full credit spectrum from investment grade to distressed and high yield. A big theme for 2009 was riding the recovery of the dislocated credit markets, which Cheyne took advantage of with the launch of the Cheyne Real Estate Debt Fund. This fund invests in unleveraged European real estate debt markets (CMBS/RMBS/loans), and tailors fund investment criteria with target returns of 10-30% depending on investors' risk/return preferences. The initial share class launched in August 2009 and has had uninterrupted monthly profitability since, returning 12.73%** since inception.
Our award-winning Credit team manages the Cheyne Long/Short Credit Fund, which has recently been nominated for the Eurohedge Credit Fund of the Year 2009 award. The fund has directional and relative value sub-strategies, positioning individual credits long or short based on our fundamental analysis and market view. The fund has a five-year track record and was up 24.90%** in 2009, having fallen only -4.95% in 2008. In addition, the long only, unlevered Corporate Bond portfolio of the Cheyne Total Return Credit Fund takes selective exposure to predominantly investment-grade corporate bonds, aiming to secure high returns with relatively low default risk. Since its launch in May, this product is up 10.9%. Recently, the Credit team's success has been recognised by institutional investors who have selected them to take over the management and restructuring of significant credit portfolios.
In September, Cheyne hired arguably the most successful equity trading team ever to emerge from Morgan Stanley Europe to form the Cheyne Equity Macro Fund. Led by Jorge Giampaoli and Paul Ruddleston, this fund follows a short-term, liquid, macro-based equity trading strategy. The appointment of the team allows Cheyne to broaden our equities offerings in line with investor demand. Previously, Jorge was responsible for Proprietary Trading for the Morgan Stanley European Equity division, and Paul was Managing Director and Head of Global Market Trading Strategy, and as such he was responsible for the equity strategy for all proprietary equity groups at the firm.
In September we also announced the launch of our first UCITS III compliant vehicle, the Cheyne Select UCITS Fund Plc. With an absolute return strategy, the first class of the fund aims to generate long-term absolute capital appreciation by investing in global convertible bonds. With Cheyne's origins deeply rooted in converts, the Cheyne Select Convertibles Fund builds on a 10-year track record and expertise in long-only and hedge fund convertible bond management. Cheyne's Long Only Convertible Bond Programmme has seen a strong rebound in 2009 and was up 37.4%** for the year.
Cheyne's European Event Driven Fund, which launched at the start of October, invests in liquid European credit and equity situations, seeking net returns of 15-20%. The Event Driven team, one of the largest and most experienced groups of Event Driven specialists in Europe today, seeks to identify the most attractive opportunities across the entire capital structure. The current positioning of the fund favours high yield and credit restructuring situations over equity opportunities. The fund got off to a very strong start in its first three months, producing positive returns each month. Cheyne also welcomes Altedge to our family of managed products. In August we assumed the management responsibilities of US$ 200 million fund of fund assets. With a six-year track record, the two Altedge flagship funds have added an extra dimension to Cheyne's investment activities. The Fund of Funds team, led by Cem Habib, won two nominations for best multi-strategy funds in 2006 and 2007, and the best newcomer fund of hedge funds award for the CTA fund of funds in 2008.
Finally, over the last year Cheyne has placed even greater importance on broadening and expanding our excellent client relationships. To this end, Max Nardulli was appointed as Head of International Sales and Distribution in October. Max is responsible for marketing Cheyne's range of Cheyne Capital Annual Newsletter products globally, excluding the United Kingdom. He joins from Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he was head of the alternative capital markets team, responsible for EMEA and Asia ex-Japan. Tom Wiggin joined as Head of UK Marketing in November. Tom has long been acquainted with Cheyne and joins us from Deutsche Bank in London where he worked since 1998, most recently as Managing Director, responsible for hedge fund relationships in Europe.
Author Resource:-
Cheyne Capital is one of Europe’s leading alternative asset managers. Cheyne Capital Management (UK) LLP is authorised and regulated by the UK FSA and, along with other parts of the group, is a registered investment adviser with the US SEC.
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