(December 7 – 11:10 ET) – Mackenzie Financial is launching the Mackenzie Alternative Strategies Fund, a multi-manager, multi-strategy hedge fund. The fund will be available for sale starting January 2, 2001. It will combine “best-of-class hedge funds from around the globe within one all-encompassing investment,” says Mackenzie. Tremont Investment Management, Inc. has been retained as the advisor to the fund.

Mackenzie’s objective is to provide attractive returns that are affected very little by equity or fixed-income market volatility. Combining the expertise of various managers, the fund may employ several different kinds of hedge fund strategies including long/short equity, merger arbitrage, convertible bond arbitrage, mortgage-backed securities arbitrage, and event-driven investing. The fund will target an absolute level of return that is more dependent on manager skill than market direction.

“The Mackenzie Alternative Strategies Fund offers Canadians access to some of the best managers in the hedge fund industry and is timely given investors’ concerns about today’s markets,” said Jim Fraser, senior vice president, Mackenzie Financial Services. “We believe the fund will be an excellent long-term investment alternative with lower risk than most equity funds, while offering a performance not dependent on any one manager.”

The investment minimum will be $150,000. That buys access to “world leading hedge fund managers at a fraction of their normal investment requirements.” Many hedge funds have large individual minimum investments starting as high as US$10 million.

The Fund is available by Offering Memorandum only to investors purchasing under prospectus exemptions.
-IE Staff