Cargill and Black River Asset Management LLC, an alternative
investment company and wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill, announced
today the launch of LaCrosse Global Fund Services as an independently
run hedge fund service provider and administrator based in New York,
with 150 employees and offices in Bogota, Buenos Aires, Caracas,
Istanbul, London, Minneapolis, Moscow, Sao Paulo and Singapore.
The new company is a spinout of the existing middle- and
back-office services that have supported Black River Asset Management
and prior to that, Cargill's proprietary capital markets trading
activities for 20 years. LaCrosse Global Fund Services will continue
to serve funds managed by Black River Asset Management, and the new
company will open with more than $6 billion of assets under
administration encompassing 34 individual strategies traded by
portfolio managers located in 11 countries.
As an independent subsidiary with its own board, LaCrosse Global
Fund Services plans to use its global presence to provide these same
operations, middle-office and fund administration services to third
parties, focusing on complex funds that require capabilities in
equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, commodities, emerging
markets and related derivatives. Additional services will include
facilitation of custodian and prime broker settlement, OTC derivatives
processing, cash and collateral management, administration of onshore
and offshore feeders and independent valuation of hedge fund
portfolios.
LaCrosse Global Fund Services will operate as an independent firm
offering services to third parties beginning Jan. 1, 2007, and is
already in discussions with prospective clients. "We believe the time
is right for these services," says Robert Lumpkins, LaCrosse board
member and former vice chairman and chief financial officer of
Cargill. "Our experience supporting international trading across asset
classes, coupled with our reputation for disciplined financial
management and controls, promise to make this a powerful offering for
the international alternative investment community and the investors
it serves."
New management team
Stuart Feffer and Christopher Kundro have joined LaCrosse Global
Fund Services as co-chief executive officers to lead the new
independent company. They both served as consultants to Cargill for
the launch of Black River Asset Management in 2003. In that capacity,
they helped design and implement Black River's middle- and back-office
operations and administration, which contributed to a successful
launch and strong growth in assets under management.
"The rapid growth in complex fund structures and multi-asset class
strategies has clearly led to a need to support a higher level of
services," said Co-CEO Christopher Kundro. "This is especially true in
the middle-office and valuations areas, where the offerings of many
fund administrators are limited. Fund managers can truly benefit from
one-stop shopping for operational and administrative support."
"LaCrosse Global Fund Services' product and service offerings will
fill a critical gap in the industry," added Co-CEO Stuart Feffer. "For
the first time, the most demanding and complex fund managers will have
a viable and cost-effective alternative to supporting their own
infrastructure. We will be able to support them whatever they trade,
wherever they trade it, whenever markets are open."
Kundro and Feffer have worked together for more than 10 years,
most recently at BearingPoint and Capco and are 20-year veterans of
the financial services industry. They are well known in the
alternative investment community for their work in setting up hedge
fund platforms and for their expertise in operational risk and
valuation issues in hedge funds. Among their other accomplishments,
they were co-authors of a series of studies on operational risk in
hedge funds that have been recognized by international regulators, the
academic community and the alternative investment industry as having
raised the market's consciousness on the issue. In addition, they have
advised a number of fund managers on the selection of fund
administration providers and the establishment of sound operational
and valuation practices. For further information regarding LaCrosse
Global Fund Services or its services, contact Stuart Feffer or
Christopher Kundro at 212-588-7232.
About LaCrosse Global Fund Services
LaCrosse Global Fund Services is a hedge fund administrator that
operates as an independently run subsidiary of Black River and
Cargill. LaCrosse Global Fund Services is a provider of operations,
middle-office and administration services to hedge funds. LaCrosse
Global Fund Services has approximately 150 employees in 10 global
office locations.
About Cargill
Cargill is an international provider of food, agricultural and
risk management products and services. With 149,000 employees in 63
countries, the company is committed to using its knowledge and
experience to collaborate with customers to help them succeed. For
more information, visit http://www.cargill.com.
About Black River Asset Management
Black River Asset Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of
Cargill, is an independently run global asset management company with
11 offices in 10 countries and more than 20 years of worldwide
investment experience.
