Gottex, the alternative asset management group, has reported a third quarter decline in assets of 13.6 per cent against the second quarter of this year.  In its trading statement the group reported $13.5 billion assets under management at 30 September, compared to $15.6 billion at 30 June. 

The group also reported client redemptions of $870 million for the period, against $380 million in subscriptions.  Total net client subscriptions and redemptions for the first nine months of 2008 amounted to an outflow of $1.44 billion.

The group attributed a negative effect of $190 million in the third quarter to the foreign exchange impact and other rebalancing factors, while performance related adjustments accounted for a $1.44 billion decrease. Gottex’s asset based strategies showed a 15.8 per cent decline, with the firm’s advisory mandates and market neutral and directional strategies faring little better, dropping 15.2 and 13.1 per cent respectively.  Gottex’s best performing strategy, enhanced index, fell 3.2 per cent.

Joachim Gottschalk, chairman and chief executive officer of Gottex, said:  “The third quarter was a period of deepening and unprecedented turmoil in the global financial markets. We believe that the events of recent weeks have clearly awakened the broader community to the magnitude of the problem and the need to successfully implement a concerted solution.

"It is difficult to predict exactly the timing of any turning point, but our view is that a market neutral diversified portfolio across many strategies, which are at extreme valuation points, is likely to generate strong performance when market stability returns.”

Gottex provides investment management services to a diversified range of hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, invested with over 165 hedge fund managers around the world.  Incorporated in Guernsey, Gottex has offices in Lausanne, Zurich, London, Hong Kong, New York, Boston and Luxembourg. 

Last week Gottex announced the appointment of former UBS senior managerDr Dominique Kuettel as managing director responsible for the firm’s institutional business in Switzerland.