A local fund management company is launching a fund of hedge funds that will be managed and administered from Bermuda and which is designed to make an average return of 15 percent annually.

The TAM Absolute Return Fund Limited, one of only a handful of such funds on the Island, is being managed by Tribley Asset Management (TAM). The company was established earlier this month by Christopher Tribley, former Treasurer for the Americas at the Bank of Bermuda where he worked from 1983 to March 2004. Mr. Tribley was responsible for the day-to-day management for the Bank's $8 billion global treasury asset portfolio; he was also the chief dealer for the Foreign Exchange department at the Bank until 1997. According to a statement from TAM, he has handpicked a diverse group of hedge funds and investment managers to build a fund based on credentials, reputation and track record.

"The fund is designed to make money whether the stock market or interest rates are going up or down," said Mr. Tribley. "We believe that by building a portfolio consisting of only hedge funds that have low correlations to each other, we can produce consistent, positive returns without the volatility found in traditional investments."

The objective of the fund is to provide a consistent, absolute return performance, and to achieve an average annual return of 15 per cent or higher, net of all fees. In order to achieve this, TAM structures the portfolio to minimise risk by diversifying across different hedge fund strategies and by using more than one manager within each strategy. They also include managers that have low correlations to each other to reduce the likelihood of simultaneous poor performances.

TAM uses sophisticated software to perform statistical analysis on both the portfolio and the underlying funds, and continually reviews the managers to help them deliver on their vision of providing consistent returns each month, whatever the market conditions. The minimum investment required is $100,000.

Mr. Tribley is supported by fellow TAM directors Tara Leonard, a chartered accountant and retired executive with over 19 years of experience in finance and accounting; William DeSilva Jr., a certified management accountant, with over 20 years of experience in finance, management and accounting; and Kim Carter, a successful private investor. The Bank of Bermuda is the custodian to the fund, and Forum Fund Services (a wholly owned subsidiary of Citigroup) serves as the administrator.