La Genevoise launches product with Harcourt

La Genevoise is not the first life insurance in Switzerland to include hedge funds in its financial solutions, but it has followed an innovative path by creating its own fund of hedge funds, in order to achieve a perfect match with its existing portfolios.

The product has been approved by the Swiss Banking Commission and will offer daily liquidity as one of the features.

Dr. Kurt Lambert, Founder and Vice Chairman of Harcourt, said: "We are excited about the launch of an innovative product, and are proud to have been selected to manage it by one of the leading life insurance groups in Switzerland. We believe that the proven ability of hedge funds to create absolute return lends itself perfectly for life insurance based products and are committed to make this product a success".

Dr. Markus Rohrer, Head of Financial Services Dpt., La Genevoise, said: "Hedge Funds lower the correlation, improve the volatility, and result in superior risk adjusted returns for any portfolio. We took great care to find and select the appropriate partner to manage it. We are delighted to team up with Harcourt for this exciting venture."

Background Note: La Genevoise, Compagnie d’Assurances sur la Vie, was founded by private bankers in 1872. Today, it is a modern financial services company and a member of the Zurich Financial Services group. La Genevoise specialises in counselling and in offering complete solutions in the fields of investment and comprehensive retirement solutions for individuals as well as for small and medium sized companies.

Zurich-based Harcourt Investment Consulting AG is a leading provider of hedge fund solutions to institutional investors. Founded in 1997, the firm is headquartered in Zurich, with offices in Geneva, Stockholm and Bridgetown. With assets under management now in excess of USD 1 billion, the firm has a staff of 24 experienced investment professionals.

Copyright Hedgeweek 2003