Lausanne-based Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and hedge fund manager Gottex are joining forces to create “innovative investment solutions”. B...

Lausanne-based Banque Cantonale Vaudoise and hedge fund manager Gottex are joining forces to create “innovative investment solutions”. BCV's alternative investment team will draw on Gottex's network to identify new investment opportunities, mainly applied to conservative investment strategies. BCV hopes also to gain from Gottex's global presence as well as its experience in hedge fund risk management. BCV will be responsible for research, portfolio management and tactical allocation and will select directional strategy managers. The initial focus will be on existing products such as AMC Alternative Funds, whose assets under management currently exceed SFr400 million ($322 million). BCV and Gottex plan to jointly launch and market niche products later this year. Christopher Preston, head of wealth management at BCV, said: "Alternative investments fit naturally into our strategy to offer sophisticated, high value-added products combined with rigorous risk management." This initiative represents the latest in BCV's strategy of entering partnerships with specialist companies, such as Dynagest in the field of dynamic floor funds and Diapason in commodity investment management. BCV is Switzerland’s fifth-largest bank by total assets and in its top ten wealth managers, with over SFr72 billion in assets under management. Private bank Piguet is a member of the BCV group. Gottex Fund Management manages over SFr9 billion in a wide variety of funds of hedge funds.