Had this on the watch list too long and could kick my own ass if it was possible. I think this is just the type of play needed on these markets along with Value shares such as Churchill China that I recommended yesterday.

Heres just a brief background on the company.................

Hedge fund leads rush to float
by Louise Armitstead
RAB Capital is the first to plan a listing in London. Others are bound to follow

IN the spring of 1999 Philip Richards and Michael Alen-Buckley arrived almost empty-handed at their new office — a small room in 1 Adam Street, just off the Strand in central London.
The day — April Fools’ Day — seemed apt at the time. Richards and Alen-Buckley, both highly regarded bankers at Merrill Lynch, were giving up stellar careers to start their own hedge fund, RAB Capital. The only money they had was their own, and their staff consisted of one manager, a compliance officer and a secretary.

Five years on, the little room in 1 Adam Street, still RAB Capital’s main trading floor, albeit straining under a vastly expanded workforce, is again the engine room of an ambitious and pioneering venture.

Last week RAB Capital became the first stand-alone hedge-fund company to announce its intention to float in London.

Richards, 46, and Alen-Buckley, 43, will be at the helm of a company with a market value that could be as high as 100m. Their stakes could be worth 30m each. Advised by KBC Peel Hunt, the firm will release a prospectus tomorrow revealing how much money it intends to raise.

In the past five years, Richards, a former army officer, and Alen-Buckley, who is the son-in-law of the hotelier Lord Forte, have increased their funds under management from 4m to an estimated 1.1 billion. They have 40 staff (16 of them managers), 7 hedge funds and a track record that is the envy of the City.

RAB’s first fund, the European equities fund, which was launched in November 1999, has made returns of 84% despite the tumbling markets.

Floating will for the first time allow small investors to take part in the success of a hedge-fund boutique rather than investing in one fund.

But there is growing concern that they will also be exposed to risks that at the moment are restricted to professional investors.

Watching in the wings are hundreds of other hedge-fund managers, salivating at the thought of following RAB to market and realising the value of their businesses. Investment bankers and advisers are also rubbing their hands at the prospect of a spate of similar deals.

Two funds earmarked for flotation are Thames River Capital and GLG Partners, one of the biggest hedge funds in London, with about $8 billion under management. Experts say plenty of others are looking to float as a way of cashing in.

Richards and Alen-Buckley dismiss the suggestion that this is their motive for floating RAB. “Right from the start we wanted to create a long-term business and we’re here to stay,” said Richards. “Floating is an indication of our permanence. Neither one of us will be taking cash out. We are also doing this for our staff. We have given them options over the years and this will be their chance to realise some cash. Staff loyalty is important to us and to our clients, who like the stability this offers.”

The cash raised from the float will also be used to launch additional hedge funds and bankroll the company’s rapid expansion.

Managers have already been hired for several new funds that will specialise in energy and in Japan. Small investors are likely to be attracted through a joint venture with Saga, which provides services for the over-fifties and has 7m customers.

Richards and Alen-Buckley built impressive reputations in the City working together in the late 1980s at Smith New Court, where they helped to build the stockbroker from a market value of 10m to one of 500m by the time it was sold to Merrill Lynch in 1995.

Both men had been watching the growing hedge-fund industry with interest. Alen-Buckley had numerous contacts, including leading figures such as George Soros. They spent four years at Merrill before quitting to set up RAB.

Alen-Buckley, who is taking the title of executive chairman, is described as the “public face” of the business. Richards, who goes from chief investment officer to chief executive, is more involved in strategy.

Richards runs the Special Situations fund, which is just over a year old but has already generated a return of 1,274%.

Since hedge funds are known for being opaque and secretive, observers are concerned that RAB will struggle to live with the scrutiny that comes with being a public company.

Richards said the company planned to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) rather than the main market so that lengthy meetings with institutions could be avoided. “We want to spend our time managing the money, not talking about it,” he said.

“We have a simple philosophy. Our goal is to produce consistent returns in all market conditions. We think that if you work on managing the risks and reducing the downside, the upside tends to look after itself. The float is exciting but it will still be business as usual.”ENDS



Please DYOR, you are responsible for your own buying and selling timing actions.

cheers GF

METALS STOCKS
Sellers swamp metals and mining
Nymex gold closes at $379.10; miners' shares hit







WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) -- Mining stocks closed near their weakest levels Friday, undercut by expectations for higher U.S. interest rates arriving on the economic scene sooner rather than later.



It was a similar story in the metals pits on the New York Mercantile Exchange, where futures weakened across the board as better-than-expected growth in U.S. nonfarm payrolls for April drew investment funds into the dollar. See Currencies.

Gold for June delivery fell 2.4 percent to end at $379.10 an ounce, rebounding modestly from its Nymex session lows. For the week, the benchmark contract dropped another 2.2 percent.

Bigger losses were logged by July silver, down 3.9 percent to $5.60 an ounce; July copper, down 3.7 percent to a close at $1.1925 per pound; and June palladium, down 4.7 percent to $242.15 an ounce. July platinum retreated 1.9 percent to end at $779 an ounce.

Against this backdrop, bears called the tune in metals stocks. The Philadelphia Gold and Silver Index ($XAU: news, chart, profile) dropped 5.2 percent to 78.03, while the CBOE Gold Index ($GOX: news, chart, profile) lost 4.8 percent to 67.37 and the Amex Gold Bugs Index (HUI: news, chart, profile) fell 5.4 percent to 168.80.

Bellwether mining stocks likewise extended earlier losses, paced by Phelps Dodge (PD: news, chart, profile). The copper giant's shares plummeted 7.1 percent to finish the week at $61.25.

Among gold producers, Placer Dome (PDG: news, chart, profile) retreated 6.9 percent to $13.29, while Newmont Mining (NEM: news, chart, profile) lost 6.4 percent to $35.42. Shares of Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX: news, chart, profile) fell 3.5 percent to $28.61.

Today's Financial Times has a article headed,

RAB BOOMS AS HEDGE FUNDS GAIN FAVOUR,

It reports on yesterday's buy note from Evolution, Robin Chabra of Evolution said, "There is HUGE potential for growth given the fact that the hedge fund industry is still young, fragmented and dominated by smaller players"
Evolution forecasts pretax profits to increase by 77% to 18.8min 2004, giving RAB a price earnings ratio of around 14.1.
14.1 p.e. is hardly expensive for a dynamic growth company such as RAB, Evolution has also based its figures on FUM of 1.1bn USD, but RAB have recently confirmed that the FUM has grown to 1.6bn usd, and is increasing by 20% per quarter on a compound basis.

cheers GF. Time to jump aboard I feel before it gets away

this is poised. am lookking to triple my money from here

Gf said " Time to jump aboard I feel before it gets away"

It's going to get much cheaper in my opinion gf. -3p today so far, I think further falls will follow, ajren makes a very sensible & rational comment above.

Dorothy P so am I and quick time aswell.

cheers GF.

Well it ended -5p the day before & -1p today, the bubble seems to have been popped.

I did think the recent rise from 50p was a spike, & I expect it will have another spike before going back down again to my forecast of a 66% premium on float price of 41.5p

Im a patient type, like I said a quid quick time. No joking either.

cheers GF.

A quid quick time?

How quick?

Very Quick re- to my investment time frame.

I see Cambridge Minerals are on the leader board today, we own circa 26 % of that one.

cheers GF.

Very Interesting..............

RNS Number:5759Y
Cambridge Mineral Resources PLC
12 May 2004

CAMBRIDGE MINERAL RESOURCES PLC
STATEMENT RE. SHARE PRICE MOVEMENT


The Directors of Cambridge Mineral Resources plc (the "Company") have noted the
rise in the Company's share price this morning. They confirm that they are in
the early stages of discussions in relation to an offer for the Company.



A further announcement will be made in due course.


Contact:


cheers Gf.

Nice rise this morning.

cheers Gf.

GF I hope that this is another Cauldwell.

Thanks for pointing it out.

Yup apple, Caldwell was a 4 bagger for me along with Sporting Bet another 4 bagger plus although I have cashed in my dosh with Caldwell but am keeping SBT running. Evil Knievil closed his short in Sporting Bet Tuesday thats him finally out of the market and he says the short turned out to be a dissapointment.

RAB will out beleive me it will only take the POG to rise at some point over the next month. I have a massive cash balance just waiting to bang into Gold stock , please watch them very carefully as I feel the gold boom will once again rise and go even higher, strange that the most sucessfull investor in Britain Jim Slater also appears to think that way, just look at this reported today.....

Galahad Gold said James Slater, deputy chairman and finance director, has acquired 2,500,000 shares in the company at a price of 11.45p per share, taking his holding to 66,007,133 or 11.73%.

Avocet Mining said Nigel McNair Scott, chairman, has acquired 50,000 shares at 60.5p each, taking his holding to 5,525,000 shares or 5.33%.

Cheers GF.

Well as my third eye predicted a spike & back down.

Would be nice to know actually just where that thirdeye is situated?, is it up your a--e as lemon top stated on ample?.

cheers GF.

lol..

Average performance from 7 funds 197.8%, supplied by my dear freind Invisage.

cheers GF.

Goldfinger
could you read the mdw thread please.

Looks like the market correction is bringing us a few realistic prices, expected further downside and so it has this morning...-4p


No longer think this will settle @ 66% premium to issue price, more like 50% @ 37.5p.

Well, I did say 41.5p originally & here is it 41.5p middle.


Not sure of 37.5p anymore more like 30p, I think the bulls have given up posting, maybe they see it as a lost cause or they have all bailed out?