Sustainable hedge fund Greenbay confirms fund closure

Greenbay Investments, a Dutch boutique asset manager which used an innovative model to measure the sustainable performance of companies, is closing its European Long Short Fund after raising just €10m.

Greenbay, set up in 2007 by former executives from Rabobank and Barclays Capital, warned in January that it would close the fund unless it received further commitments from investors. Now, despite new commitments, it has not been able to attract its target amount.

The outfit’s investors included two institutional investors as well as senior individuals in the financial markets and had returned +8.20% since launch.

“Further to our newsletter in January we are very sorry to announce that we decided to close Greenbay EuropeanLong Short Fund,” the firm said in a letter to investors.
The firm was founded by former Rabo Securities head of equities Feddo Kuiper and Robert Kroese (ex-Barclays Capital and UBS). Bas van Rhijn, the former global head of financial markets sales at ING Bank, came on board in October 2007. “It’s more than a shame,” said co-founder Kuiper in an interview. He said the firm is returning cash to investors this month.
In a client newsletter, the company stated: “It has been a difficult decision as we have put a tremendous amount of effort in developing the first (and only) European long short equity Fund based on sustainability. However managing a small Fund does not offer a sound basis for a long term business.”