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

Neither would I Andy.

cheers GF.

Here we go again! More sellers on board. There appears to be no anchor preventing RAB from falling further in this jittery market. I woldnt be surprised if we go below 60p unless the PR team come out with a statement to instill confidence in the short term to medium term. So far this week there are certainly no buyers prepaired to support current levels.

wxpert,

Peeps selling pre end of tax year maybe?

Most resource stocks have been hit the last couple of days, and RAB has stakes in many of them, so given a post results drop was always on the crds, I'm not too surprised at this fall.

I remain a holder for the longer term.

Just found this article on RAB.The sit is free to read and registration is free.

http://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk

RAB CAPITAL: A resource play on steroids.
By William Foss.

In the grand scheme of things RAB Capital is a small hedge fund - small compared to the colossal U.S. hedge funds. But in the world of resource companies RAB is a force that is admired and feared at the same time. RAB's focus on mining companies has meant that it has produced incredible returns for its investors over the last few years. The recent hiccup in the stock market and commodity sector will no doubt put a dent in RAB's performance, but considering the bull run in mining companies over the last few years, any dip in performance will be minor compared to the long term upward trend.

Today RAB updated the market on progress for the 6 month period ending 30th June 2006 and the numbers are noteworthy.

RAB has some 15% interest in Asia Energy! Which is bad news as after a sharp drop in AEN's SP in last few days, it has been suspended today! This will have an impact on RAB.

I think they hold about 20% of OXS too. Stock down from 70p to 25p since they last declared a holding --- from my info -- may be out of date

looks like we are on the move again

RAB=38p after further falling today - it is close to the all-time low, a couple of months ago.
Note that Aug 06 was near to 50p

29/09/2008 18:01 >> =DJ 2nd UPDATE: RAB Fund Closure Threat To Small-Cap Miners


By Elaine Mills DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--The potential liquidation of RAB Capital''s troubled natural resources fund, pending a shareholders'' vote later Monday, could have dire consequences for many AIM-listed miners already battered by a difficult trading environment, analysts said. Hedge fund manager RAB Capital''s $900 million Special Situations fund holds sizable stakes in dozens of small mining and oil exploration companies. Later Monday, shareholders in the fund are to vote on proposals to lock in their cash for three years in return for lower fees, following a run of bad performance. If they reject the proposals, the fund faces liquidation, RAB said. That would force it to sell off its holdings, which would drive down the share prices of many firms alreadybattling with tough market conditions as investors shun riskier stocks. The AIM market index has declined by around 40% over the past year. "If RAB suddenly dumped all its shares on the market it would be carnage," Andy Davidson, an analyst at Fox-Davies Capital, told Dow Jones Newswires. Another analyst, who declined to be named, said because RAB owns largely illiquid small mining stocks it wouldn''t be able to sell unless it was at a discounted price. The longer investor commitment period is intended to stem the fund''s accelerating rate of redemptions. The Special Situations strategy fell by an estimated 22% in August, taking the year-to-date estimated decline to 48%. Fuad Sillem, investor relations officer for Arian Silver CORP. (AGQ.V) in which RAB has a nearly 7% stake, conceded that the liquidation of the fund could impact negatively on Arian. Another company arguably at major risk is Falkland Oil and Gas Ltd. (FOGL.LN),in which RAB holds around 37%. However, it''s chief executive Tim Bushwell said he wasn''t "unduly concerned" as he thought there was a "reasonable chance" that shareholders would accept the proposals. He said although liquidation would cause short-term weakness in Falkland''s shares, it wouldn''t impact on its long-term growth story. Richard Williams, the CEO of Oxus Gold PLC (OXS.LN) in which RAB holds nearly 28%, also dismissed the threat posed by a potential selloff. Williams said he was confident investors would accept the proposals, but even if they didn''t, he expected an "orderly handover" of RAB''s shareholding rather than a "fire-sale." There is a whole swathe of institutional investors eager to take up a stake in Oxus, he said. At least one major shareholder, AP Pension, which holds 15% in RAB Special Situations, has come out in support of extending the commitment period. Its Chief Investment Officer, Claus Buchwald Christjansen, said the early-stage mining sector was initially capital-intensive and needed "sticky money," or longer-term funding, for any investment to come to fruition. Christjansen added that AP Pension had "great faith" in Philip Richards as an investment manager. The result of the RAB shareholder vote will be released before the close of business in the Cayman Islands Monday, which is around 1000 GMT, RAB Capital said. It declined to comment any further. Company Web sites: www.rabcap.com

Retail Shareholders may wonder how this business managed to lose so much Mkt Cap -
Wonder no more - tot-up thir share-buybacks and wonder that one transaction in March08 was for shares at 54p (totalling £2m+), if this is typical of their Management abilities then it's hardly surprising they've lost so much.
(Currently 13p, = down 24% )

Add-in the loss due to their investments falling in value ( despite buying at opportunistic prices ) and you can see that investing in RAB -or theuir investee companies - - - - is quite a bad idea.

IF they survive, then "maybe" when the sp is a small multiple of the ten-a-penny nominal value . . . . . will represent a decent turn. . . . . robably mid-2009,
-but what do I know?

EDIT, cynic - yes good point, they misjudged NRK ( but so did I !).
Also I distrust companies based in so-called "Off-shore tax havens" it means the UK taxman is disenfranchised - but so am I !!!
EDIT (25Nov2010)- BTW I thought we had Banking Regulators (my NRK prob, above.) - however, I note that today the sp is 13.25 - oh deary. That, the sp fall and "offshore" all spells Bargepoles. - and the Market well knows it.
EDIT(11May2011)-They mention Delistying - "...the last refuge of a..." (well, you know the rest)...Bargepoles is the Watch-Word

RAB showed the worth of their management skills when they piled into NRK while it was already clear that it was plunging down the plughole

Cash over 50m, worth 10p per share, assets over 106m worth 21.2p per share. Surely this should bounce from these levels.

now have a look at some of the fine heavy investments they have made in the last year ...... NRK springs immediately to mind!

Agreed, but they are reducing the number of managed funds to three. This should reduce overheads and increase profitability. Also cash in bank is currently worth more than mcap.

and what are their assets really worth if they have to sell them?
would rather buy HSBC!

I think that they may have already got rid, however, if they havn't then their cash situation will only improve. Or am I missing something.

if the guys at the coalface are crap, as they seemingly are, then why on earth would one buy their shares?

oh boy held on to these babies for years hoping for a recovery but pretty crappy results for one of the once leading lights in the city. There should be plenty of sword falling in the offing but none of them will go away skint unlike some of their share holders.