H20 increases investment in fund created after mass redemptions – FT

H2O Asset Management LLP has invested more of its own money in a vehicle created in 2019 after it saw billions of euros of redemptions from its funds, the Financial Times reported.

The asset management company holds 37% the H2O Deep Value fund, the FT reported. It implies that H20 held €118 million in the fund as of December 2020, the paper added, citing calculations by Mediobanca equity analyst Matthew Clark.

The fund was set up weeks after it was revealed that H20 invested €1 billion in illiquid bonds linked to financier Lars Windhorst. Its holdings and investors have been unclear, though the paper reported that Windhorst sourced investments for it.

Filings from the asset manager's majority owner, Natixis, show that it has a €20 million direct exposure and €60 million indirect exposure to H2O funds, largely through the Deep Value vehicle. Natixis is currently in the process of selling its stake in H2O.