UK-based alternative investments and hedge fund manager Man Group has become one of the first foreign entities to secure a significant investment into its Qualified Domestic Limited Partner (QDLP) fund, after the firm was awarded the licence in late 2013.
Man Group said in a statement that its QDLP fund had received placements from Chinese institutional investors including ICBC and Citic Trust. A spokesperson for Man Group declined to disclose to Asia Asset Management the value of the investments.
Launched in mid-2013, the QDLP programme allows selected international alternative investment managers to access Chinese domestic capital by setting up a wholly-owned investment management enterprise in Shanghai. This then acts as a general partner to sponsor and establish a qualified fund to invest into an offshore alternative fund.
Chinese regulators granted QDLP licences to six global hedge fund managers: Och-Ziff, Citadel, Oaktree, Canyon, Man Group, and Winton. Each received a quota of US$50 million.
Pierre Lagrange, chairman of Man Group Asia, noted that the positive response to the firm’s QDLP fund to date demonstrates a growing appetite from the Chinese institutional investment community for these types of investments.
He added that the firm has built strong, long-term relationships with the institutional investment community and is working with local partners to develop new products.
William Mak, head of Northern Trust in Asia Pacific, previously told Asia Asset Management that the QDLP programme marked the first time any foreign financial institution had been permitted to raise capital from domestic investors in China and invest these proceeds offshore. He claimed it would offer attractive investment opportunities to international hedge funds and domestic players alike.
