Offering a way in

Offshore closed-ended structures offer retail investors a more secure and liquid means of getting exposure to normally inaccessible assets such as hedge funds and private equity

Closed-ended structures - an offshore version of the investment trust - offer a multitude of advantages for both the investor and the fund manager. Traditional minimum investment thresholds in hedge funds have been highly prohibitive for all but a small proportion of the investment community. Many require payments of $1m, and the more prestigious funds require as much as $3m. Even funds of hedge funds which tend to be accessible with a smaller investment still demand a larger initial outlay than many retail investors can afford. By contrast, an investor can gain access to a closed-ended...