Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has been given a positive evaluation by Fitch Ratings for its fund of hedge fund business. Fitch awarded th...

Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch has been given a positive evaluation by Fitch Ratings for its fund of hedge fund business. Fitch awarded the Geneva-based bank’s hedge fund business with an IP2 rating, indicating a “strong” investment process. Fitch said the rating reflects Lombard Odier's track record and experience in this field, its stable, high-quality management teams, group backing and the bank's extensive access to alternative fund managers, as well as "efforts to improve the tracking of the operating and market risks faced by the underlying funds". Fitch added that the “investment process used by LODH favours a high-conviction investment style, focusing on the selection of underlying funds with a proven and original management style that offers an entrepreneurial structure”. Moreover, it benefits from extensive access to the universe of alternative fund managers and their capabilities, said Fitch. Lombard Odier has been involved in alternative multi-management since 1991. The current alternative multi-management team has been in place since 1997. LODH offers a range of five single-strategy funds of funds – Europe, US and Asia Pacific long/short equities, global trading and global arbitrage – and two multi-strategy funds of funds. At end-March 2006 assets managed by LODH in alternative multi-management totalled €2.6 billion ($3.3 billion). A new mono-strategy fund, LODH Multiadvisers Latin America Equity Long/Short, was launched in early June 2006. Fitch Investment Process ratings are on a scale of 'IP1' to 'IP5', with 'IP1' being the highest. Ratings within the IP2 category correspond to "strong" investment processes.