HFA Asset Management has denied its United States subsidiary is among a group of investors injecting funds into embattled firm Centro Properties Group (Centro).
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange, HFA denied its merger partner Lighthouse Partners has any involvement with Centro.
“HFA Holdings Limited would like to clarify that its US-based subsidiary Lighthouse Partners has no investments in Centro Properties Group and no involvement in reported efforts to recapitalise Centro Properties Group and has never submitted any proposal to Centro’s advisers.”
Lighthouse Partners was named as possible Centro lifesavers in a recent Fairfax Media article along with a number of other offshore investors including Blackstone and the Citadel Investment Group.
On 14 March Centro announced its recapitalisation process had gained a high degree of interest.
Meanwhile, HFA has added to its Octane series with the roll out of the HFA Octane Five Fund.
The fund marks the first for the listed financial services group since its merger with Lighthouse Partners.
The fund has been structured to take advantage of the changing face of global equity markets with the security of capital protection and a target return of 10-15 per cent per annum, HFA Asset Management joint managing director Oscar Martinis said.
“In rising equities markets like we have seen over the last decade it has been difficult for the absolute return philosophy to clearly demonstrate its strengths although the underlying fund has posted solid double digit returns,” Martinis said.
“In the current year and beyond we believe this strategy will begin to show its true worth as stock dispersion returns to the market.”
The fund will provide leveraged exposure to the Lighthouse Partners Global Long Short Fund, an absolute return fund of funds with about $USD300 million in assets under management.
Ratings house Lonsec recently assigned the fund a recommended rating.
