Pioneer Alternative Investments has confirmed the resignation of nine members of its fund of hedge funds division in London and New York, including senior members of the investment team Ma
Pioneer Alternative Investments has confirmed the resignation of nine members of its fund of hedge funds division in London and New York, including senior members of the investment team Mark Barker and Greg Knott, but expresses confidence that the departures will not have a significant adverse impact on the business.
Pioneer, part of Italy’s UniCredit group, entered the fund of hedge funds market six years ago with its acquisition of the Momentum group. Since then, the portfolio manager and research teams have grown from five at the time of the acquisition to around 30 investment professionals.
Over the same period, the division’s assets under management have increased from USD1bn to USD8bn. In the process, Pioneer says, it has moved from dependence on a small group of people to a large team with a consistent process, collegiate approach and culture.
‘The departure of several people from such a large investment team does not compromise the investment activity, and Pioneer Alternative Investments is confident that the contingency plans and the strength and depth of assembled talent is more than adequate to carry out day-to-day responsibilities,’ the firm said in a statement.
‘There is no impact on the investment portfolios as it is in the nature of the way Pioneer Alternative Investments manages fund of hedge fund strategies that long-term strategic positions are taken in the underlying managers and funds.’
Established in 1999, Pioneer Alternative Investments offers a range of single-strategy, multistrategy and multi-manager hedge funds from its investment centre in Dublin and its other main operations in London and Milan. It had total assets under management exceeding EUR6bn at the end of June.
Pioneer Alternative Investments is the alternative investment management arm of Pioneer Investments, the investment management subsidiary of the UniCredit group, which had EUR210.46bn in assets under management at the end of April.
The group, which has offices in 25 countries around the world and employs more than 2,300 staff, offers mutual funds, alternative investments and structured products to clients that include institutions, corporations, intermediaries and private investors, with institutional clients accounting for more than EUR53bn.
