Twentyfour Asset Management has developed very well under the guidance of Zurich-based private bank Vontobel, CEO Mark Holman said in an interview mit finews.ch-TV. The case of GAM evokes less enthusiasm.

The situation of rival GAM is «unfortunate», said Mark Holman, co-founder and CEO Twentyfour, the asset manager which belongs to Swiss bank Vontobel. A word with a hint of typical British understatement: GAM was forced to shut down funds with total assets of $7.3 billion after the suspension of fund manager Tim Haywood. The company also faces further outflows of money and the share prices is down almost 50 percent

The case of GAM shows just how important risk management really is, Holman said. With more complex products, risk management also has to be more complex. The bond funds managed by Haywood were so-called unconstrained funds.

Tripling of Assets Under Management

Unconstrained hedge funds have almost no constraints regarding investments in bonds and credits. The problems at GAM at least seem to affect those funds only, Holman added.

He was most enthusiastic when asked about the development of TwentyFour, which is also specialized in investments in fixed income. The three years under the roof of Vontobel had been fantastic, he said, with assets under management almost tripling to 18 billion Swiss francs ($18.7 billion).

Expansion Bid in the U.S.

Thanks to the link with Vontobel, TwentyFour received more money from outside of the U.K., with a quarter of assets under management already belonging to non-U.K. residents. The goal of the firm is 50 percent and Holman is confident of reaching it within one or two years.

One of the pillars is being established in the U.S. with the help of distribution partner Beacon Asset Management. The cooperation started in April 2017 and is still young, Holman said. But the development of the track record was most satisfactory, he added and TwentyFour profits from the support of Vontobel, which has a U.S. branch on Times Square, New York..

See here what Holman thinks about current risks in emerging markets.