Quality Capital Management Ltd (often abbreviated as QCM) is a UK-based hedge fund specialising in managed futures. The company was founded by Aref Karim in 1995 and its headquarters is in Weybridge, Elmbridge, Surrey, England.
 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Hedge fund |
| Founded | December 1995 |
| Founder | Aref Karim |
| Headquarters | , England, KT13 0TJ |
Number of locations | 2 |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | Aref Karim (chief executive officer and chief investment officer) |
| Products | Global diversified programme, global natural resources programme, enhanced commodity beta programme |
| AUM |  $670 million |
| Total assets | £ 150 million |
| Website | www |
History
editQuality Capital Management (QCM) is a UK limited liability company incorporated[1] in December 1995[2] with its head office in Weybridge, Elmbridge, Surrey. It is a systematic macro hedge fund manager[1] specialising in managed futures.[3]
QCM is regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority and is registered in the U.S with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission/National Futures Association as a commodity trading advisor and a commodity pool operator. It has an office in Tokyo and is registered with the Japanese Financial Services Agency. The company was founded by Aref Karim who is its chief executive officer and Chief Investment Officer[1] and also carries overall responsibility for its investment strategies and research.[4]
In June 2011, an office in Tokyo was opened, which is being run by Osamu Nishimura, an ex-Itochu executive, who is a veteran in derivatives trading, hedge fund investment and funds marketing.[5]
Investment products
editQCM investor base is global and largely institutional, sovereigns and pensions.[1]
It currently offers four products. It offers three 'long volatility' investment programmes: the Global Diversified Programme, the Global Natural Resources Programme and the Enhanced Commodity Beta Programme, with a total assets under management of $670 million as of February 2009.[4] Each fund is offshore and each offers managed accounts for larger investments. Global Diversified is also available in a UCITS wrapper through the db Platinum platform.[5]
In December 1995, QCM's flagship Global Diversified Programme (GDP), commenced trading[1] through managed accounts and established a BVI-domiciled offshore fund, QCM GDP Otus Fund, in June 1999, followed by a U.S feeder fund in February 2009.[6] It established the DB Platinum IV QCM GDP Index Fund as the sub-fund of a Luxembourg-domiciled Ucits-compliant SICAV on 11 May 2011.[7][8]
Performance
editQCM's Global Diversified Programme (GDP) trades 116 exchange-traded Financial and Commodities futures in major exchanges worldwide.[1] It relies on a market environment of price persistence to properly function.[9]
In 2006, the models were reported to have worked particularly well:[6] GDP, which trades 80 global futures markets, returned 35.11%; the global natural resources program, which trades 36 physical commodity markets, returned 35.74% and the enhanced commodity beta program, which trades the same 36 commodity markets from a long-only perspective, returned 50.24%.[6] In 2008, the hedge fund made £42.9m profit on £49.3m sales,[10] returning 59%.[3] Karim and his family own at least 97% of the £150m operation. Past dividends and other assets take them to £150m.[10] The company has assets in the region of £150 million according to the Sunday Times Rich List.[11][12] The GDP made a near 60% return in 2008,[5] but struggled in 2009, losing 12%.[3] Between 2005 and 2010, it has achieved annualised returns of around 20%.[6]
QCM manages assets of $900m.[13][5] As of 10 June 2011, the GDP had a total of $611m in assets, including $524m in managed accounts, $72m in the offshore fund and $6m in the Ucits fund.[6] Between 1995 and 2011, QCM returned more than 600% growth to its investors, with only two negative years.[13] The GDP produced annualised returns of 15% over the 14 years from inception and 21% for the five years to April 2010.[7]
Strategies
editQCM trades in financial and commodities assets in 115 instruments worldwide.[3] It invests its funds through proprietary strategies that take futures positions in major global exchanges across financial and commodity markets.
QCM uses an allocation model that looks for short-term changes in acceleration.[5] It relies on market diversification, trading a large portfolio of different asset classes, uses few trend-based indicators[6] and its investment process is driven by dynamic asset allocation through the proprietary Advanced Resource Allocator (ARA) model,[3] a proprietary trading system[3] which attempts to try and shift risk away from positions not working in QCM's favour[3] with an algorithm that adjusts position sizes[14] focusing on upside volatility.[15] A risk budget is deployed based on relative opportunities through mainly an asset allocation process.[6]
Sponsorship
editIn 2015, QCM signed a three-year sponsorship deal with Asian Tour golfer.
See also
edit
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "Quality Capital Management". Absolute Returns. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ "Aref Karim of QCM: from accountant to Hedge fund CEO". Top Traders Unplugged. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g Campbell, Mary (22 June 2010). "Q&A: QCM Head Aref Karim Says 'It Pays To Be Patient'". FINalternatives. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ a b "EuroHedge Summit 2009". Hedge Fund Conferences & Awards. April 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2014. Aref Karim, Quality Capital Management
- ^ a b c d e McIntosh, Bill (14 November 2011). "Quality Capital Management". The Hedge Fund Journal. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g "The Interview – Aref Karim, Quality Capital Management: "We see managed futures playing a bigger part in a portfolio as uncertainties prevail in traditional markets"". Hedgeweek. 4 April 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Quality Capital Management Launches UCITS III Hedge Fund". FINalternatives. 10 May 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ McIntosh, Bill (21 September 2010). "Deep retail investors may get access to Quality Capital Management UCITS fund". HedgeFund Intelligence. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Melin, Mark (21 February 2014). "QCM Adjusts Trend-Following Formula Amidst Difficult Environment". ValueWalk. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ a b "Surrey's Richest 50 2010 – 20 to 11". Surrey: Surrey Life. 5 April 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Reed, Kevin (26 April 2010). "Accountants make Rich List". Accountancy Age. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ "UKs Richest Accountants Revealed". Accountant.co.uk. 27 April 2010. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ a b Wright, Rupert (29 April 2011). "A small but perfectly formed fund". The National. Abu Dhabi. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Collins, Daniel P. (23 February 2007). "Aref Karim: Allocating profits". Futures. Retrieved 1 November 2014.
- ^ Melin, Mark (7 October 2014). "Quality Capital Management Above Water in Diversified Strategy". ValueWalk. Retrieved 1 November 2014.