Man Hedge Funds looking to outsource financing go to

There is a new man in town – Park Lane, London, to be precise – who has taken on a new role in the world of hedge funds and PE: financing consultancy. Michael Romanek, principal at Rise Partners Ltd, will especially look out for those with large needs, such as funds of funds, or those with special needs, such as niche hedge funds. So hedge funds now can and do outsource financing – and structured product projects too.

There is nothing mysterious about what prime brokers do. But some things work on hearsay. Fund financing, which has been around since 1996, was initially shared by less than 10 banks. So a few years ago, one could make a couple of phone calls and get a good idea of what was happening. Now however, there are a lot of names in this business. Mr. Romanek counts more than 40 on his little black book. The greater number of players means that some of their underlying activities have had to become commoditized.

Some hedge funds are new to the financing side of the business and some of their consultants do not specialize in that kind of work either. That is where Michael Romanek comes in; he claims his clients require, or have required, anything between $100m and $6bln.

Financing is no longer an easy walk in the park, post-summer 2007 and the liquidity squeeze. “A lot of the banks say they are in business but they may not be in business at all, having shut their desk down, or they can only do a portion......................

Source:

• http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46299Michael_Romanek_the_man_hedge_funds_looking.html

Today's Top Stories:

• http://www.opalesque.com/AMB2008/46295LS_firm_EWTrading_launches_offering_of.html