Hedge Fund Awards 2014

As the first manager in Asia to offer a unique investment vehicle to access trade finance as an asset class, EuroFin Asia aims to pre- serve the capital of its investors, deliver steady and non-directional returns with low volatility and low correlation to the traditional and alternative asset classes, while facilitating SME/SMI access to cap- ital in a sustainable manner. Christian Stauffer, EFA founding partner and CEO, says: “We lend capital to companies with a history of robust performance who require additional liquidity to grow their bottom line. We provide primary financing of short-term physical trade flows, with a focus on raw materials, commodities and semi-finished goods. “Since 2006 we have financed over US$3 billion of commodity trade flows through our trade finance funds. We are financing about 100 SME/SMI in the raw material/commodity sector across geographies.” EuroFin Asia has a long-term business approach, aiming to deliver positive performance to its investors, whatever the economic and market conditions. Dramatic changes in the banking and financial system have had a positive effect on its activity. While large banks are set to remain the main provider of short-term senior debt in the trade finance industry, there is a niche gap to be filled by non- banking financiers, like EFA. Mr Stauffer explains: “During 2013 we continued our organic growth and had a record year in terms of fund raising, which con- firms a growing interest from investors for the trade finance asset class. In terms of operations, it has also been very active, seeing us execute approximately 400 transactions per month and financ- ing over US$800 million over the year.” Looking ahead, one of the benefits of the trade finance strategy is to be insulated from the turmoil in financial markets. A trade fi- nance fund provides steady and uncorrelated returns, while offer- ing a hedge against rising rates, since the portfolio has a positive correlation to interest rates. Mr Stauffer said: “Trade finance is an emerging asset class, finding its attractiveness among the global investment community and not only sophisticated investors, becoming a recognised alternative investment. Our investors are mostly financial institutions, family office and HNWI, based in Europe, Asia and some US. Over time, we have experienced a shift towards institutional clients, whose investment objectives on a risk-adjusted basis are aligned with the types of returns our funds generate and we predict that this trend will continue in 2014.” www.acquisition-intl.com 2014 International Hedge Fund Awards EuroFin Asia Mr Stauffer said of winning the award: “We are very pleased and honored to win this award. EFA is a boutique investment manager specialist in trade finance, therefore this distinction is a great rec- ognition of our identity and accomplishments since 10 years. We would like also to thank all our investors for their trust and fidelity, as well as, our employees who greatly contribute to the develop- ment and success of our firm.” “We are a leading player in niche market and we want to stay humble. We will pursue our growth and development, and focus on what we do best; managing trade finance strategies. We will continue our efforts in the foreseeable future to educate the inves- tors and democratise the trade finance asset class.” Fact File Company: EuroFin Asia Group Pte Ltd Name: Christian Stauffer Email: [email protected] Web: www.eurofinasia.com Address: 6 Raffle Quay #11-05, Singapore 048580 Telephone: +65 6325 0150 “We are very pleased and honored to win this award. EFA is a boutique investment manager spe- cialist in trade finance, therefore this distinction is a great recognition of our identity and ac- complishments since 10 years. We would like also to thank all our inves- tors for their trust and fidelity.” Singapore-based EuroFin Asia (EFA) Group, founded in 2003, is an award-winning independent merchant finance specialist and recognized industry leader in Asia Pacific, whose primary business is Commodity Trade Finance. Best Boutique Fund Manager of the Year - Asia Pacific 26