Independent wealth management firm Vestra Wealth (Vestra) has appointed Mario De Bergolis as head of operational due-diligence of its Hedge Fund Advisory Service – a new dedicated service for clients looking for due diligence, research and advice on alternative investments.
De Bergolis joins Vestra from GlobeOp Financial Services where he headed up the UK Implementations team. He has over 15 years’ industry experience within the hedge fund sector and is a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst.
“The Hedge Fund Advisory Service is another example of Vestra providing clients with the highest quality of investment advice – in this case with a focus on alternative investments," says De Bergolis. "With so many hedge funds on the market, the aim of the Hedge Fund Advisory Service is to fully understand the investment rationale of a selected hedge fund and have clear evidence that it is well run. This deeper due diligence and research enables us to provide informed, independent advice to our clients.”
The Hedge Fund Advisory Service provides analysis of single manager hedge funds rather than fund of funds, and is offered to all clients who meet the appropriate business, legal and compliant requirements. It is overseen by Hendrik van Riel, Chair of the Vestra Wealth Investment Advisory Board and former Head of JP Morgan Investment Management in London.
Vestra has approximately GBP150million invested in hedge funds, representing 6% of AUM. It does not currently have any specific targets for levels of investment into Hedge Funds. Vestra provides advice across all sectors and asset classes and recommends hedge funds where appropriate.
David Scott, Managing Partner at Vestra says: "Marios’ extensive hedge fund experience will be integral as we continue to grow our capabilities in this area, and focus on providing our clients with quality, strategic advice, tailored to their investment needs. We have chosen not to sell our own in-house products, to ensure all advice is truly independent, and free from all conflicts. Mario’s appointment complements our Fund Management due diligence role performed by Meena Lakshmanan, formerly of GLG.’
