ABN Amro Private Banking is beginning a process of giving clients wider access to hedge funds through a partnership with Lyxor Asset Management.
High net worth individuals (HNWI) in Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Netherlands will be offered allocations to Lyxor's single manager and multi-manager products as appropriate. Clients will be able to invest in offshore and Ucits-compliant funds.
ABN Amro Private Banking senior alternative investment product specialist Marc de Kloe said the bank was in the process of changing its risk profile for clients to provide more active exposure to hedge funds. The partnership with Lyxor was the beginning of that process.
De Kloe said Lyxor had been chosen for its strong performance during the financial crisis and its managed account offering. According de Kloe, ABN Amro will look to expand the service with similar hedge fund management companies in the future.
"We would like to have funds with an element of managed accounts," he said.
ABN Amro Private Banking currently has €150 billion ($209 billion) in assets under management from 120,000 HNWI clients. De Kloe said it expected "reasonable inflows" into hedge funds over the next few years.
The hedge fund programme is likely to be rolled out to more clients in the future.