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Two more Platinum funds for Singapore

The MAS approved the distribution of two more Platinum Capital funds.

Platinum Capital Management says two additional Platinum funds, the Platinum All Weather Fund and Platinum Equity Plus Fund, have been approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) for investment by sophisticated investors in Singapore.

Craig Reeves, managing director of Platinum Capital, says, "Platinum views the Far East in general, and Singapore in particular, as a very important market for alternative investments."

This follows the January 2003 announcement of Platinum Washington and Platinum Capital Protected Income Plus funds being among the first international hedge funds to garner MAS authorisation, following the publication of the guidelines in December 2002.

Platinum All Weather and Platinum Equity Plus will be available for distribution by major Singaporean and foreign banks and independent financial advisors (IFAs). Reeve says that these two funds were chosen due to their reception elsewhere by investors and that the distributors in Singapore were interested in them. The number of distributors has increased slightly in Singapore over the number when the first two funds were approved. Between IFAs and banks Reeve slightly favours the IFAs: "IFAs have been quick to react to market conditions and to new products. One or two of the banks are a bit set in their ways, although others have been very swift to pick up on these products and grasped that they are something they want to be selling," he says.

Platinum All Weather is a single-manager fund focused on achieving consistent monthly returns with low volatility. Its strategic focus is equity market neutral with options overlays.

Platinum Equity Plus is a multi-manager fund designed to attain capital appreciation via a diverse range of global investment strategies. It ranks in the top 15% of all funds in terms of 2003 year to date performance through April, according to Hedge Funds World.

Platinum do have other funds that could be suitable for the Singapore market, according to Reeve, but he says that Platinum does not want to flood the market.