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

Cheers Hawick and XM. Hi Angi, Im not sure that there are that many shorters left or will be in RAB in the near future lets face it anyone shorting a stock on a P/E of circa 11 has to be barmy anyway. The Opportunity Cost is massive.

The real shorters go for stocks on high P/Es in the high 20s and above or special situations like airlines and the cost of fuel or yet again credit companies facing a torrid future , if the results are as good as the forecasts from brokers Evolutuion Bee Greg, a lot of shorters will be burnt to a frazzle.

cheers GF.

A quick explanation of Opportunity Cost and how pro shorters use this economic ideology in their investment stratergy.

For those that dont already know (and certainly one poster on this thread hasnt a clue) 'opportunity cost' is a phrase used by economists like myself. In short it means on each occasion you do something you could have done something else, and whats more done something else better.

What you did not do as an alternative which was better is known as, the opportunity cost.

In the case of RAB to a pro shorter the opportunity cost would have been if they had invested in RAB (P/E 11) but missed out on the rich pickings and high P/Es (25 plus) of say for example, 3DM, NTX or Easyjet. (just used as examples)the higher the P/E the further the company as to fall and the greater the opportunity cost,especially in terms of financial return.

Hope that makes sense.

cheers GF.

's the shorters who have made the money on these & many other over-hyped stocks.

Investors have wised up & now look on the bulletin boards for over hyped situations.

If investors are "barmy" shorting it, why is it down 0.75p & if it's a barmy price why aren't investors rushing in to buy? ......Perhaps Berlin is to blame lol.

Ok guys we all have our opinions but why not keep it light and cheerful?? It's bad enough seeing the prices fall without the cheap shots! Look at the CFP thread and the CYH thread to see some people can keep a sense of humour and cheer each other up even when losing! I can laugh at these comments as my money disappears won't someone oblige here?

I think your perfectly right moneyplus, only one person on the short side spoiling this thread with unfounded technicals and cheap shots.

cheers GF.

unfounded technicals?

Perhaps the "1 quick time" is more unfounded than anything else on this thread.

Why do bulls always delight & crow when the price goes north & squeal when the price goes down? Do bulls think of the shorters when the price is rising? I have never yet seen evidence.


The money world is full of ups & downs I'm afraid you just have to get used to them.

Just a reminder to thoose on the thread who have a physical position long or short.

A quick explanation of Opportunity Cost and how pro shorters use this economic ideology in their investment stratergy.

For those that dont already know (and certainly one poster on this thread hasnt a clue) 'opportunity cost' is a phrase used by economists like myself. In short it means on each occasion you do something you could have done something else, and whats more done something else better.

What you did not do as an alternative which was better is known as, the opportunity cost.

In the case of RAB to a pro shorter the opportunity cost would have been if they had invested in RAB (P/E 11) but missed out on the rich pickings and high P/Es (25 plus) of say for example, 3DM, NTX or Easyjet. (just used as examples)the higher the P/E the further the company as to fall and the greater the opportunity cost,especially in terms of financial return.

Hope that makes sense.

cheers GF.

Fact 1 The hype said RAB "going to 1 quick time".
Fact 2 Some bought on the hype & selected information & share went from 50p to 60p quick time.
Fact 3 The wise ones came in to short the hype
Fact 4. The shares have fallen over 33% & are still falling.
Fact 5 Some shrewdies will be looking for more hype posts.

FACT 6. YOU TALK PURE TOILET.
FACT 7. NEVER RESPOND TO YOUR OWN THEARDS COS YOU ARE A RAMPER AND YOU KNOW IT
FACT 8. YOU HAVE SOMETHING AGAINST US.

It would be interesting to know if you-TE are making money by shorting this share or if you are just like a dog with a bone and can't leave us optimists alone!!

Yes that would be interesting mp.
Investors are wising up to ramped shares & taking short positions......some of them with the help of syndicates.

A shame that Third Eye has not got the moral fibre to say what his and/or his syndicate's position is, long, short or neutral in RAB.

It is so much easier to trust a poster if you think they, like all analysts are required to do, disclose any financial interest in a stock.

Why is he so running scared?

When i advised people to sell CBF at 120p elsewhere and didn't post it on here, the Third Eye treated it as though it were a heinous crime. He apparently expects rather less diligence when posting his own (and or his syndicate lackeys) involvement with a stock. Double standards.

Hawick: I think its best if you trust your own research and gut feeling. In this way you are hold resposible for your actions. As for TE, i would not worry about him

Uhmm!!! what can we deduce from this??? any ideas apart form the obvious??

Hardman have had several buy recomendations!!!

UK's Falkland Island Holdings explores for oil
Wed 23 June, 2004 10:33


LONDON, June 23 (Reuters) - Shares in Falkland Island Holdings Plc FKL.L rose on Wednesday after it said it had formed a new exploration company to look for up to 2.5 billion barrels of oil off the British Falkland Islands near Argentina. The company, whose business interests in the islands span minerals, shipping and retail, said they had raised $4.5 million to fund the next 12 to 18 months of work on their petroleum exploration licenses.

"The creation of a new, fully funded oil exploration company that mirrors our minerals venture is an exciting development," Falkland Island Holdings Chairman David Hudd said in a statement.

Shares in the company rose two percent to 286-1/2 pence by 0930 GMT, valuing the company at 17.9 million pounds.

The firm last year mapped 4,340 kilometres of seismic data, and said the leads it identified then could contain between 200 million and 2.5 billion barrels of oil.

The new oil exploration firm, Falkland Oil and Gas Limited, is jointly owned with RAB Capital RAB.L and Australian oil and gas firm Global Petroleum Limited, and the exploration will be carried out as part of a joint venture with a second Australian oil and gas company, Hardman Resources Ltd.

Good spot xmortal. I had a friend who worked on the British Antarctic Survey and he said that whoever got into the Falklands oil rights would one day make a fortune. let's hope he was right!

Hedge fund results suffer from overcrowding-study
Tue 22 June, 2004 15:21


By Justine Trueman
PARIS, June 22 (Reuters) - An increase in the number of hedge fund managers is starting to hurt performance, researchers from Edhec business school said on Tuesday. Performance figures by Edhec for global hedge funds show that nine out of 13 alternative investment strategies posted negative returns in May.
According to Edhec researcher Mathieu Vaissie, a number of arbitrage strategies suffered because too many managers were targeting the same opportunities.
"It's like a cake, if you have to share it between 15 instead of 10 people the slices are smaller and you will have more losers," he said.
In particular this affected convertible arbitrage strategies which fell 1.31 percent in May, their worst performance since July 2002.
Merger arbitrage suffered a similar fate, with a 0.04 percent return in May, the worst performance in the last 12 months.
The worst performing strategy in May was emerging markets, down 1.87 percent, due to declines in emerging stock and bond markets.
Funds of hedge funds also performed poorly, down 0.86 percent.
Vaissie said some investors were beginning to question the value of actively managed funds of hedge funds given their relatively poor performance and volatility.
Over one year funds of hedge funds have delivered 8.09 percent on average compared with up to 20 percent for some hedge fund styles. But volatility over this period was still 2.75 percent, higher than some styles such as merger arbitrage which had just 1.49 percent.
"This is one of the things we've been looking at, whether it is justified or whether it would be better to have a hedge fund index," said Vaissie.

Sharecaster thanks.....at last some constructive reasoned comment posted.

Thanks, glad you agree with my comment about Falklands, yep Falklands looking good Third Eye.

Still no balls to admit your position - or your syndicate's - in this stock Third Eye???

What you hiding?