Forsyth goes under hammer

The UK-based Forsyth Partners , a fund of funds manager that oversees $1.8 billion, has been placed in administration and suspended its funds.

Grant Thornton UK has been appointed administrator, and plan to sell the business as going concern, Forsyth said in a statement today. The administrator expects to find a buyer in the next two days, according to the statement.

The company has offices in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America and operates 39 funds in stocks, bonds and "alternative strategies". 

WHAT'S IN THE KITTY Top Five Holdings of  I. O. F (%)
HDFC Equity Fund	12.80
DSP Merrill Lynch Opportunities Fund	12.50
Reliance Growth Fund	9.40
DSP Merrill Lynch TIGER Fund	8.80
Reliance Vision Fund	7.00

Forsyth Partners has an Indian Opportunities Fund, a fund of funds with assets under management worth $90.50 million (Rs 367 crore) as on August 2007. The fund, an open-end fund incorporated in Bermuda, was launched in October 2005.

The fund invests in investment funds that invest in equities and equity related securities in the Indian market. The NAV of the fund as on September 11 was $17.40.

In its July update, Forsyth said, "There were no major changes to the Forsyth Indian Opportunities Fund over the month. The fund modestly underperformed over the month (net of fees)."

"The offshore holding the Franklin Templeton IF India Fund was the largest detractor followed by the Fidelity Special Situations Fund, the latter suffering from its high allocation to technology stocks which underperformed over the month.

In contrast, the Birla Mid-Cap Fund was the best performing fund in July despite the mid-cap indices underperforming their large-cap peers over month.

The Sundaram CAPEX Fund also performed well as infrastructure plays continued to rise on the back of strong earnings and good guidance.

Other notable performers were the Franklin India Blue Chip Fund and the HDFC Top 200 Fund, both funds benefiting from their underweights in banks and technology," the fund stated.

Forsyth Partners has 39 funds with mandates covering equities, bonds and alternative strategies. Forsyth Partners is a privately owned company and the shares in the company are primarily owned by its senior executives.