LONDON (PRWEB) December 8, 2010 – Duet Asset Management, the London-based alternative asset manager, is preparing to launch a new commodities hedge fund by hiring Tony Hall and Arno Pilz.

Tony Hall is the global head of distillates oil trading at Credit
Suisse-Glencore, one of the world’s largest commodity partnerships and has previously worked as an oil trader focusing on the bank’s commodity at Deutsche Bank.

Arno Pilz brings his commodities expertise as the former global head of metals trading at UBS and Lehman Brothers.

A string of high-profile departures of senior traders have been taking place, as they anticipate the effects of the new banking regulation, which would ban proprietary trading operations in the U.S., while Europe traders face pay curbs. In July, European lawmakers pushed for tight restrictions on banker bonuses.

Duet Group CEO, Osman Semerci said, “we are glad to have Tony and Arno join Duet.”

BACKGROUND ON DUET

Duet Group was founded by Henry Gabay and Alain Schibl in June 2002 in London. Osman Semerci joined as CEO in 2008. Duet is a London based alternative asset management company managing over US$2.3 billion of equity as of the 1st of September 2010, across three business areas: Hedge Funds, Real Estate and Fund of Hedge Funds.

Duet Group employs 73 professionals in London, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, New Delhi, Dubai and Istanbul.

DUET Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Wolf Hengst as a fourth Independent Director to the Board of DUET India Hotels.

(Read more via Duet Group.)

Last year was an extraordinarily tough time for fund managers trying to raise capital to buy property – and for funds investing in property debt it was tougher still, as Duet Group’s Dale Lattanzio readily admits.

(Read more via Duet Group.)

The Duet division has also appointed Karim Khimji as chief investment officer for Europe and Douglas Morse as chief investment officer for the US, with both reporting to Mr De Candia.

Prior to joining Duet Group, Mr De Candia was co-founder, president and principal of AltEdge Capital Management, where he was also a member of the investment committee and head of business development. From 1999 to 2003 he was the chairman and principal of Intosoft.

Between 1990 and 1999, he worked at Credit Suisse First B

oston as managing director and member of the emerging markets committee and head of the European emerging markets group and at Credit Suisse Financial Products where he was a member of the executive board and head of the continental European derivatives group.

Mr De Candia said: “I am delighted to have joined Duet and to be involved in the development of its fund of hedge funds business, taking advantage of Duet’s expertise in asset management as well as its worldwide presence.” 

Osman Semerci, chief executive of Duet Group, added: “Eric brings 20 years of industry experience to our growing group, and we are pleased to have him as part of our team.”

The group had roughly $2.1bn (£1.3bn) of funds under management as of September and also manages hedge funds and private equity funds.

[Read more via FTAdviser]

Prior to joining the Duet Group, Mr. Kitaygorodsky was a senior vice president and founding member of the Institutional Equities Group at UBS, where he covered global equity markets and was responsible for developing and managing senior client relationships with major investors in the United States. During his time he built one of the most highly regarded distribution teams.

Prior to this, Mr. Kitaygorodsky was a director at Credit Suisse and head for the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) equity sales teams in New York from 1997 to 2003. He began his financial career as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley. Vladimir graduated summa cum laude from Bowdoin College in 1993 with a degree in economics and Russian. He was a Bowdoin scholar all four years.

“I am delighted to have joined the Duet Group and to be involved in such an exciting launch,” said Mr. Kitaygorodsky. Osman Semerci added, “Vladimir brings sixteen years of industry experience to our rapidly growing group and we are pleased to have him as part of our team.”

About The Duet Group:
Duet Group is a client-focused financial group specializing in alternative asset management that is dedicated not only to generating superior investment returns, but also to delivering risk management, transparency and client service required by sophisticated investors. Duet Group was founded by Henry Gabay & Alain Schibl in June 2002 in London and has USD 2 billion of equity under management. Osman Semerci joined as Duet Group CEO and Managing Partner in April 2008.

[Read this article via PR Web].

Africa’s banking system was isolated from the worst of the financial crisis, Ayo Salami from Duet Victoire Africa Index Fund told CNBC Thursday. Salami currently favors African brewers, cement companies and telecoms companies.

[Video link]

Osman Semerci, CEO of the Duet Group, a global financial group specializing in alternative asset management, is pleased to announce the launch of the company’s Central Eastern European, Emerging Market, Multi-Strategy Fund, also known as the “Duet CEE Fund”. The Fund will use a combination of directional, relative value and high frequency trading strategies.

FULL ARTICLE

Osman Semerci, CEO of the Duet Group, a global financial firm specializing in Alternative Asset Management, announced today the firm has launched its Duet Africa Opportunities Fund after raising fresh capital for the strategic acquisition of assets in New Star’s Heart of Africa Fund. This new fund seeks to deliver consistent capital appreciation through active management in the value of fund assets.

FULL ARTICLE

The new fund will target both equity and fixed income markets in the MENA region and will be managed by Duet Mena Limited.

Dubai, UAE — 21 May 2009 — Osman Semerci, CEO of Duet Group, a global financial group specializing in Alternative Asset Management, announced today the launch of the first MENA multistrategy hedge fund “Duet MENA Opportunities Fund”. The new fund will target both equity and fixed income markets in the MENA region and will be managed by Duet Mena Limited, a DIFC licensed asset manager.

Rabih Sultani, Chief Investment Officer, will manage the fund under the leadership of Hedi Ben Mlouka, Chief Executive Officer of Duet MENA. Rabih brings over 9 years of fund management and research experience across equities and fixed income. The investment team has one of the longest established track records in the Middle East.

Hedi Ben Mlouka said: ‘The current unfolding crisis has created unprecedented opportunities in global markets. Such opportunities appear to be even more eye-catching in the MENA region, and we, Duet Group, are well positioned to take advantage of these prospects for our clients. I am pleased to announce that Duet’s commitment to the Middle East has led to the allocation of significant capital to the fund from existing shareholders and clients’.

The Fund will deploy three main investment strategies: Conviction, Relative Arbitrage and Opportunistic trading. These will be premised on pricing dislocations and valuation imbalances that are created from time to time under the influence of economic, political and capital flow factors.

The fund is unique in that it operates in both Equity and Credit markets while applying a rigorous risk management process. The investment process is based on fundamental, quantitative and technical factors to identify trades offering a favorable risk-return profile, while capital will be dynamically allocated across these strategies as opportunities change’, said Rabih Sultani.

Duet Group is a client-focused financial group specializing in Alternative Asset Management that is dedicated not only to generating superior investment returns, but also to delivering risk management, transparency and client service required by sophisticated investors. Duet Group was founded by Henry Gabay & Alain Schibl in June 2002 in London and has USD 2 billion of equity under management. Osman Semerci joined as Duet Group CEO and Managing Partner in April 2008.

For more information, please contact Yazid Ben Salem on ybensalem@duetgroup.net or visit our website www.duetgroup.net