Sunday 10 April 2011

Firms venture into unknown territory - The National

Mesirow Financial is a financial services firm that manages US$51 billion (Dh187.32bn) for institutional clients and is based in Chicago. It recently signed an agreement with Mubadala Development, a strategic investment company owned by the Abu Dhabi Government, to open a joint venture in the capital this year. Michael Zehfuss, a senior managing director who heads Mesirow's client management globally, talks about how the deal will change the investment landscape.

How will the new venture bring something unique to the region?

There's a hole in that there's not a viable or existing platform like this in the region. Then you take Mubadala's strength, and our track record of performing very well during numerous cycles over 21 years with a very thoughtful risk management-based approach on both currency and commodities - that package is very, very different.

What kind of advice will be offered?

The product offering is going to look very similar to what we do globally for our clients in three categories. One client type is where institutions and companies have currency and commodities exposure, and they're seeking to eliminate risk, so we just take risk out of the portfolio or operating business. The other client type has currency or commodities risk to be managed, but the client seeks active risk management. The third type would be if a client is looking for absolute return from different sources of liquid investment strategies.

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