Kaye Scholer snaps up Robeco's hedge fund management launch

Kaye Scholer has acted for Robeco Institutional Asset Management on the formation of a hedge fund management company.

The company, VCM Fund Management, has been set up jointly by Robeco and Vantage Capital Markets, with the latter receiving advice from Nabarro.

Robeco is a longstanding Kaye Scholer client. The team acting on the deal was led by the firm's London managing partner Guilherme Brafman alongside head of investment funds Timothy Spangler. Senior consultant Owen Watkins and counsel David Rivera and Kate Parker were also involved with the deal. At Nabarro the team was led by head of alternative investment funds Dale Gabbert, with assistance from corporate associate Jonathan Ling.

According to Brafman, Kaye Scholer was particularly pleased to win the instruction because the firm did not have to pitch for the deal.

"I've bought other asset managers for Robeco before and have helped them make various investments in that kind of field," said Brafman. "The reason they came to us was that they believe we understand their business and that if we said we could do it, we'd deliver or die."

The deal sees Robeco and Vantage's Roderick Wurfbain and Simon Clowes all invest in the newly formed business, with the ownership understood to be split three ways rather than two.

Vantage has transferred its existing fund management business into VCM, a UK LLP authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), with Robeco setting up a Luxembourg Sicav (the offshore equivalent of a unit trust) to invest in future hedge fund launches from the company.

Senior associate Sophie Dupin of Luxembourg-based Elvinger Hoss & Prussen advised on the formation of the Sicav, with Kaye Scholer providing advice on the FSA's stance in relation to such vehicles.

While Kaye Scholer is well known for its work in raising hedge funds, it is not yet known whether it will act on future launches for VCM, which intends to launch up to four hedge funds each year.