Last month it emerged the world's third largest hedge fund, Paulson & Co, is coming to Europe.
Founder John Paulson is making himself available via a Ucits fund later this year.
Investors rejoice! Why? Because in 2007 he made what is reputed to be the most successful wager by a hedge fund, when he punted on US sub-prime collapsing, which it did to spectacular effect.
Back in November 2007 - 10 months before the sub-prime woes became a full-blown banking crisis which Paulson profited nicely from, too - he said the crisis was "not over yet, and worse could be to come".
He made about 589% and 351% in his two Credit Opportunities hedge funds that year, and pocketed a multi-billion dollar paypacket.
Retail investors may not get a repeat performance of 2007 but they will get access to the three attributes the best hedge fund managers possess in abundance.
These are prescience, plain-talking, and eclectic thinking.
Paulson is not the first to make these skills available to retail investors via funds domiciled inside Europe, usually Luxembourg or Dublin.
Others are bringing Caribbean-based product onshore because of the EU's plans to regulate hedge funds in such a way that non-EU managers, including Paulson, and offshore funds, would be barred from taking money from European investors.
One way for such managers to get around this is launching portfolios in Europe.
Marshall Wace is shifting all its Cayman Islands portfolios to Europe. Rival Majedie Asset Management did so, too. Gartmore and RWC Partners will make regulated variants of every offshore fund they launch now, too.
Investors seem increasingly to opt for onshore funds where one is available.
However, Dalton Strategic Partnership has drawn a line in the Caribbean sand, and is taking steps specifically focused on keeping offshore fund clients.
The European Ucits long/short fund of Dalton Strategic Partnership grew from €4m at launch in February to €50m now, during which assets in its Melchior European hedge fund stayed static, for example.
Similar stories are told at Man Group for AHL, RWC Partners for US equities funds, and Gartmore for various portfolios.
Dalton's onshore fund will double the risk-taking appetite of Melchior.
Magnus Spence, partner, explains: "We are differentiating the products one from another, and need to recognise and meet the different needs of investors in offshore hedge funds and Ucits III hedge funds. Investors in Ucits hedge funds tend to seek lower-risk strategies, which typically offer return targets of between 5% and 10% per year.
"In contrast, many traditional investors in offshore hedge funds are prepared to accept a considerably higher level of investment risk in return for performance greater than 10%."
What Dalton's latest move shows is, nothwithstanding plans by ‘The Amazing Mr Paulson', not everyone is so keen on ‘onshoring' after all.
