3A adds further enhancements to range

The funds comprise three ACE Asia funds and three ACE opportunities funds denominated in different currencies.

The Asia funds aim to benefit from growth in countries such as China, with lower volatility than long-only funds. The company says acquiring an Asian office last year was crucial. Hedge funds open and close rapidly, so a team based elsewhere might be aware of a fund only once it had closed.

The opportunities funds invest in a portfolio of opportunistic hedge funds that will benefit from short to medium-term investment themes. Macro strategies may be used to access the theme of the US economic slowdown, credit strategies may tap into the theme of rising default rates while Russia, technology and gold may be explored through long-short equity strategies.

The funds were launched as satellite holdings to boost the returns that investors are already getting from core holdings in multi-strategy hedge funds. The Asia funds will be diversified while the opportunities funds will have concentrated portfolios.

3A is part of the Geneva-based banking group SYZ & Co,

SYZ & Co head of communications Ricardo Peyro says: “Returns that can be achieved in a normal balanced hedge fund portfolio are lower than 10 years ago.

“To enhance returns, you can use leverage or produce a more concentrated portfolio. More managers and more styles diversify the portfolio but the potential returns go down.”