A shareholder letter sent to investors, including the life companies through which it is believed many of the assets are held, explained a new cell called the Strategic Growth Liquidity Fund had been established.
As reported, the Strategic Growth Fund was suspended in February this year following a high volume of redemption requests from investors.
At the time of the suspension, the directors of the Mauritius domiciled fund who are from Guernsey based company, the Global Mutual Fund, also announced they had reomved the investment adviser, a Swiss based firm called United Asset Management (UAM), after a sustained period of poor performance.
It later transpired that UAM had at one point been owned by deVere’s founder and chief executive Nigel Green.
As reported in May, a spokesperson for deVere said Green’s control of UAM “concluded some 12 months ago and his ownership was officially relinquished in September 2012”.
At the time, deVere also confirmed up to $50m of its clients’ money had been invested in the suspended fund.
Sources familiar with the situation said it is believed that up to 70% of the fund’s assets may be in illiquid investments, including property.
On the current status of the fund, a deVere spokesperson said: “We understand the suspension is soon to be lifted, although this would need to be confirmed by the fund manager.”
The new cell, Strategic Growth Liquidity fund, has already been created and received approval from the Guernsey Financial Services Commission on 30 May. Investors have been asked to either attend a general meeting on 14 August in Guernsey or complete a proxy form to vote on the proposed transfer of assets.
