Triple A announces new deal

Triple A Partners has announced that it will act as distributor for the fund management company VAM. The firm recently appointed Hong Kong hedge fund manager Toby Bland to run its new VAM Asia Fixed Income Fund.

Among the other funds Triple A will be selling to Asian investors are the VAM Emerging Markets Fund and the VAM International Real Estate Equity Fund.

The process takes the form of a remunerated capital introductions service according to Paul Smith of Triple A Partners. His other core business is the seeding of hedge funds, which he hopes will blossom again in 2010 and is now in a refractory period.

"At present we have no seed capital left as we have invested it all," says Smith, Asia's Sultan of Seed. "We are shortly to start the drive to raise more for the first quarter of 2010 investment. Until then we are concentrating on distribution activities."

Last month, Triple A said it was also going to distribute funds managed by Reech AiM and Lanterne Strategic Investors. Helping out in this respect at Triple A is the Queen Bee of alternatives in this neck of the enchanted forest, Jo Murphy, and recent hire Frank Packard.

Aussie fund managers Lanterne (formerly known as St Helens Capital) announced yesterday that it was hiring Adrian Tucker from Citi and Lindsay Jones from Frontera Investment Partners in London. They will act as portfolio managers in Sydney and both have hard acts to follow as the Lanterne fund is up 24% in the last 12 months.