Dominique Montier, founder of Montier Partners, with 33 years’ investment experience, and Jeremy Alun-Jones, CIO of Montier Partners with 26 years’ investment experience, will join Stenham’s investment committee, which will now comprise nine investment professionals, with an average of 20 years’ investment experience. Jeremy will assume the role of Managing Director, which will allow Kevin Arenson, currently Managing Director and CIO, to focus exclusively on investment management and risk control. The rest of the Montier team joining Stenham include two senior research analysts and four business development/client service professionals.

Montier Partners was founded in 1996 to act as an investment advisor to its sister company Montier Guernsey LP which manages diversified hedge fund portfolios for family offices and institutions. Total assets are over US$ 400 million, bringing Stenham Asset Management’s total assets under management to US$ 3.5 billion.

Stenham Asset Management has been active in fund management for over 25 years focusing exclusively on delivering absolute returns for pension funds, charities, asset managers and family offices, including both discretionary portfolios and funds of hedge funds.

Kevin Arenson said: ‘We have, for some time now, been contemplating the separation of the roles of Managing Director and CIO at Stenham to allow me to concentrate exclusively on managing the Stenham portfolios together with the investment committee. The attraction of Montier was that it provided us with a highly suitable candidate for the position of Managing Director of Stenham Asset Management, expanded the current business development team and simultaneously augmented the investment team both at an operational and investment committee level.

We have known Montier Partners for a number of years and have been impressed with the ethos and owner-managed culture at Montier which, like that of Stenham, has capital preservation and a commitment to absolute returns with low volatility, at its heart. I look forward to working with Jeremy in his capacity as MD of our business and to the experience that he and Dominique will bring to our investment committee.’

Dominique Montier, Founder and CEO, Montier Partners Ltd added: ‘Stenham has its origins as a manager of family money like Montier and this means that at our core, we share the same values in terms of investment philosophy and risk control. I am looking forward to playing an active role in assessing future investments and looking after my clients’ assets for many years to come.’

Jeremy Alun-Jones commented: ‘We are delighted to be joining Stenham. They have an outstanding 25 year track record of achieving strong absolute returns but more importantly achieving these returns with a focus on managing and mitigating risks, both investment and operational. We were particularly attracted by the breadth of experience in their investment team and their substantial operational due diligence capabilities. I am looking forward to taking on the role of Managing Director which will allow Kevin to focus exclusively on managing the portfolios. Together we are confident we can continue to evolve and grow the Stenham business in the best interests of all our clients.’

For further information, please see full press release on www.stenham.com or contact:

Jan van Niekerk, CEO, Peregrine Holdings Ltd
Tel: +27 (0) 83 285 6596
Email: janvn@peregrine.co.za

• Jan van Niekerk has been appointed Group CEO, assuming responsibility for all the Group’s day-to-day operations.
• Sean Melnick has stepped down as Group CEO and has been appointed as Deputy Chairman. Sean continues to hold the position of Chairman of the Group’s offshore subsidiary, Stenham Limited.
• Leonard Harris retains the role of independent, non-executive Chairman.

Jan van Niekerk’s appointment of Group CEO follows 16 months spent as Group Deputy CEO and over three years of being a member of the Peregrine executive committee. Prior to this, Jan was the CIO of Citadel and a member of the Citadel board and executive committee (since February 2004). Jan retains his membership on the Citadel Board in his Group CEO role. Jan joined Citadel in September 2000 after spending three years in portfolio management at Sanlam and Gensec Asset Management. 

Earlier in June, we announced that our long-term empowerment partner, the Vunani Group, had increased its stake to a majority 51% shareholding, whilst our previous controlling company, Peregrine Holdings, would retain a meaningful 49% interest. The Vunani Group is a well-diversified, listed, black-owned financial services company. This transaction represented a logical progression in expanding Vunani’s service provision to the market through the acquisition of sophisticated fund management capabilities. Peregrine Holdings similarly recognized that Black Economic Empowerment is a key business imperative within South Africa and, with Vunani Fund Managers’ management and staff committed to transformation, the close relationship between the parties provided a natural opportunity to create a black-owned asset management company.

Vunani Fund Managers will be managed and operated by the same team of experienced individuals. Existing synergies will now be greatly enhanced and far better utilized with the contributions and energy of key Vunani personnel already impacting positively on our business. The Board of Directors has changed to reflect the altered shareholdings and Vunani executives will provide greater input into the strategic direction of the business. Our client portfolios will continue to be serviced by our approved brokers on an independent, best execution basis.

Professional responsibilities such as portfolio management, security selection, compliance and client liaison are already well staffed and demographically representative and will be unaffected by the change, as will our location and all telephonic contact details. E-mail addresses will be augmented by the addition of …@vunanifm.co.za designations, although current e-mail addresses will also remain valid.

This transaction strengthens the position of the business in combining client, shareholder, management and staff interests with proven asset management capability. For further information please feel free to contact Guy Fletcher on either (021) 670 4969, or guyf@vunanifm.co.za

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Over and above the immediate financial effect, the transaction entrenches the well established and successful management team and facilitates both staff retention and succession planning. It also provides a platform to build the annuity income of the business and to expand into other related areas.

Green Oak founders, Willie Viljoen and Rean Smit, set up the hedge fund management company within Rand Merchant Bank (“RMB”) in 2007. This Stellenbosch based fixed income manager has established a very successful track record and currently runs two strategies, Green Oak Fixed Income and the more aggressive Go Green Fixed Income strategy.

The Green Oak investment team has on average over 18 years investment management experience. Before setting up the hedge fund business, Willie and Rean managed an internal fixed income portfolio at RMB. Prior to that, Willie established the treasury operation at Coronation Capital while Rean was Group Treasurer at the Cadiz Group.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Peregrine. While the Green Oak team focuses on its passion of generating returns for our investors from the fixed income markets, being part of the Peregrine Group will allow us to leverage off Peregrine’s depth and experience in the local and global hedge fund industry. This means the highest level of quality in terms of operations and corporate governance, while providing access to the global investor base.” says Willie.

Leila Kuhlenthal, Head of Business Development at Peregrine, added “Green Oak is one of South Africa’s most experienced fixed income hedge fund managers. We are delighted to be able to count the investment skills of this team as part of our business. I am confident that they will complement the existing high-calibre suite of hedge funds on the Peregrine platform”.

Jan van Niekerk, Deputy-CEO of Peregrine concluded “We welcome Green Oak Capital to the Peregrine Group. We respect Willie and Rean as investors in the fixed income market. We believe that the addition of the Green Oak Capital team to Peregrine entrenches our very strong position in the local and offshore hedge fund space”.

ISSUED BY: PEREGRINE HOLDINGS

For further information please contact:

The InvestHedge awards are regarded as one of the most prestigious on the global stage, with the 10 Year awards being the most sought-after accolades. Winners are decided using an established methodology based on a combination of Sharpe ratios and returns over the relevant time period.

The event was held on Thursday 11 March in New York.

“Capital Introduction is a key initiative for the group and will play a pivotal role in the growth of the business. The companies of the Peregrine group serve a diverse range of investors. By having a central office to assist investment decision makers, mostly institutional, we can efficiently provide appropriate solutions,” says Jan van Niekerk, deputy CEO of Peregrine.

“This Business Development and Capital Introduction unit will be led by Ms Leila Kuhlenthal, who joined Peregrine last month,” Van Niekerk added.

Ms Kuhlenthal is a qualified actuary with the Institute of Actuaries and has more than ten years of experience in the field of financial services. Before joining Peregrine she was a founding partner of an asset management company in Singapore and also served as Vice President at JP Morgan Chase in London and subsequently Johannesburg.

According to Kuhlenthal, Peregrine is a leader in the South African hedge fund industry and provides access to a diverse range of funds in this asset class. “Peregrine has some of the longest running hedge funds in the country on its platform, but also offers seeding opportunities in the latest strategies. The Peregrine funds have been recognized as industry leaders and one of the funds most recently won AfricaHedge’s prestigious Fund of the Year award in 2008,” she said.

“However, the group’s offering is not limited to hedge funds. Across the different group companies – which include Peregrine Capital, Peregrine iQ, Orthogonal, Peregrine Securities, Citadel and Stenham in London – we offer specialized investment opportunities. The new unit will endeavour to communicate to investors the possibilities which are available to assist them in achieving particular investment objectives.” Kuhlenthal said.

“Peregrine is a leading specialist financial services group currently managing more than $10bn globally. The aim of the new unit is not only to drive growth in assets under management for growth’s sake, but more to provide investors with an efficient portal to select the most appropriate investment solutions to meet their objectives,” Kuhlenthal concluded.

ISSUED BY: PEREGRINE HOLDINGS

For further information please contact:

Daleen Cornelissen

Media Liaison

Peregrine and Citadel

011 722 7600 / 083 302 0827

daleenv@citadel.co.za

OR

Leila Kuhlenthal

Head: Business Development and Capital Introduction

Peregrine

011 722 7560 / 076 482 8464

leilak@peregrine.co.za