LONDON, (Reuters) – The founder of hedge fund manager Dynamic Decisions denied its main fund has been involved in any wrongdoing as Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened an investigation following investor complaints.
The SFO said yesterday it had begun a criminal investigation into the Cayman-based Growth Premium Master Fund Ltd hedge fund following a referral by the Financial Services Authority and complaints from investors.
However, the firm’s founder and Chief Executive Alberto Micalizzi, a lecturer at Bocconi university in Milan, told Reuters there was no fraud in the fund.
He said it would pay back investors the approximately $550 million it was valued at in December last year.
“It’s unfounded,” he said. “The fund is liquidating all its assets at a value in line with net asset value from December 2008. There is absolutely no fraud. The FSA has not taken any action after several months.”
The SFO’s probe, which follows an investigation into Weavering Capital, comes as a further blow to the Cayman Islands, home to most of the world’s hedge funds but facing questions over transparency and regulation.
Micalizzi said the Growth Premium Master fund was invested in corporate bonds, which were “very solid but not liquid”. The fund’s directors valued the fund at the lower end of a range provided by an external valuer, he said.
“There is an interesting opportunity to sell all the assets to one buyer. I think it’s at a good stage,” he added. “I want to settle this and clarify this.”
