Australian hedge fund appears in NZ

Tuesday 25th January 2005

An Australian based wannabe hedge fund has appeared in New Zealand on the online share trading platform Unlisted.

Hedge Fund Patrol (HFP) yesterday listed shares on the market and said that it intends to raise money through an offer of ordinary shares and options.

The company says that it intends to raise $550,000 in working capital and that it will build a "would-be global brand."

The prospective capital requirements of HFP- a would-be global brand in the hedge fund industry - are substantial ...and estimated to approach US$100million by 2010.

HFP's website says the company is researching the feasibility of launching a global brand in the retail hedge fund industry through investment in a fund-of-hedge-funds.

"HFP intends to make its first FOHF offering to Australian investors through the issue of HFP redeemable preference shares in mid 2005."

"HFP participation in Unlisted is a key strategic decision for the company whilst offering a 'ground-floor' investment opportunity for speculative investors," company founder Stephen Matthews says.

Who is Stephen Matthews? He describes himself as an investment professional with a 30 year exposure as an investor and trader. He was for a period the most active trader of the gold futures contract on the Sydney Futures Exchange after its introduction in 1976.

Matthews later worked as a treasury dealer at investment bank Schroders and as an institutional stockbroking adviser.

In 1985 he formed ASX listed investment company Rocado. In 1998 he launched what became Australia's most authoritative stockmarket chatroom " The Chimes" which was closed due to ASIC intervention in 2001.

The HFP site says his exposure to hedge funds dates from early in 2000 when he elaborated 'the Matthews Plan' to Australian re-insurance company Reac. This was a plan to short sell A$100m in international 'TMT'( telecom, media, technology )stocks in joint venture with a US 'short bias' hedge fund.

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