Halbis - February 2008

There has been much talk of late about the acquisition by large banks of smaller hedge fund boutiques, and just how independent the latter remain after their subsuming by the former.

Bill Maldonado, global head of alternative investments at Halbis, points out boutiques such as Halbis, within the group investment business unit of HSBC, enjoys the best of both worlds by being a boutique within such a massive parent.

Such structures have evoked both interest and some concern as they have become increasingly prevalent, at groups such as ABN Amro, Morgan Stanley and Schroders, for example, but the concern has proved largely unfounded.

“For us at Halbis as one of the