Close Close
ThinkAdvisor

Portfolio > Alternative Investments > Hedge Funds

FTSE to Introduce Hedge Fund Indexes in April

By Staff Writer

X
Your article was successfully shared with the contacts you provided.

NEW YORK (HedgeWorld.com)-FTSE Group will launch a hedge fund index, FTSE Hedge, in April and will license fund managers to create investable products based on that index.

With the announcement, FTSE joins a growing group of hedge fund index providers, including Credit Suisse First Boston Tremont* Index LLC, New York; Morgan Stanley Capital International, Geneva; Standard & Poor’s, New York; Hennessee Group LLC, New York; Hedge Fund Research Inc., Chicago; and Van Hedge Fund Advisors International Inc., Nashville, Tenn.

FTSE officials said in a statement that their hedge fund index would comprise 40 funds, and that the index value will be calculated daily. Each of the funds would have to meet certain criteria to be included in the fund, such as a minimum US$50 million in assets under management, a two-year track record and external audits.

Harcourt Investment Consulting AG, Zurich, Switzerland, will perform the due diligence on funds to be included in the index. FTSE officials said they plan to announce the constituent funds in April, when they introduce the index.

In addition to the overall index, FTSE Group will have sub-indexes covering various hedge fund strategies. A FTSE spokeswoman said the sub-indexes will be announced later.

Mark Makepeace, FTSE Group chief executive, said in a statement that the goal of the index is to provide “greater clarity and transparency to the hedge fund market.”

*Tremont Capital Management Inc., Rye, N.Y., is a strategic partner of and a minority investor in HedgeWorld.

[email protected]