MutualFundWire.com: There's a New Alt Funds Shop in Town
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Monday, October 15, 2012

There's a New Alt Funds Shop in Town


FISCO Funds Management LLC, a U.S.-based family of alternative investment managers, and OP 8 Analytics LLC today announced a joint venture to launch a new mutual fund shop, CARF Management LLC.

The new firm will serve as investment advisor to the River Rock IV Fund expected to launch in the fourth quarter of this year. The new mutual fund, designed to be actively managed with an emphasis on safety and preservation of wealth, will provide investors the opportunity to maintain a permanent allocation to an alternative investment strategy.

According to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the fund will seek absolute return and charge 100 basis points in management fees. The portfolio managers for the fund will be CARF chief investment officer Timothy Price, Steven Schwab and Joe St. John.

FISCO Fund Management is an investment manager headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia which has run an option volatility strategy and two price hedge funds for a number of years, according to FISCO chief operating officer Kevin Ellis. Op 8, meanwhile, is a Minneapolis, Minnesotta-based shop specializing in commodities, equities and bonds.

Combined, the two firms manage $15 million in assets, according to Ellis.

The number IV in the RiverRock IV fund signifies the four asset management silos: the first will, consisting of 25 percent of the fund's assets, will be in cash alternatives; the second, with also 25 percent, will be invested in hard assets such as precious metals agricultural products and energy interests; and the third and fourth, which combined will account for 50 percent of the fund's assets, will be in stocks and bonds. This final part will be dynamically managed and depending on market conditions could range from extremes of 50 percent invested in one asset, and 0 percent in the other, to any combination in between.



Company Press Release

New Firm to Bring Alternative Investment Strategy to Mutual Fund Space

Veteran Investment Advisers Join Forces to Launch River Rock IV Fund

ATLANTA, GA -- (Marketwire) -- 10/15/12 -- FISCO Funds Management LLC, a U.S.-based family of alternative investment managers, and OP 8 Analytics LLC today announced a joint venture to launch a new investment management company, CARF Management LLC.

The new firm will serve as investment advisor to the River Rock IV Fund expected to launch in Q4. The new mutual fund, designed to be actively managed with an emphasis on safety and preservation of wealth, will provide investors the opportunity to maintain a permanent allocation to an alternative investment strategy.

According to Kevin Ellis, a principal at FISCO Funds Management and CARF's Chief Operating Officer, FISCO and OP 8 share a belief that successful investing is about minimizing loss.

"Static allocations to portfolio classes and simple buy-and-hold strategies are no longer viable in today's volatile environments," said Mr. Ellis. "Our mission is to actively manage the River Rock IV portfolio in an attempt to enhance returns while seeking to maintain a core of safety and stability that may protect and grow wealth."

CARF's principals bring more than 100 years of investment management experience running hedge funds and providing separate account management services to high net-worth clients.

Tim Price, CARF's Chief Investment Officer and CIO of OP 8 Analytics, believes that investors have been slow in adapting to the rigors of the secular bear market.

"We expect the bear market to continue for at least a decade," says Mr. Price, "and we're going to offer our clients an actively managed investment that may not subject them to the whims of the market's direction."

The CARF team believes the River Rock IV Fund will redefine the mutual fund investment experience by bringing an alternative assets investment strategy to the marketplace with an emphasis on balanced growth and preservation of capital.

"The investment management business is about maintaining the trust and confidence of clients," says Mr. Ellis. "We plan to ensure that this important responsibility remains the consistent mindset of CARF."




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