Hedge Invest, an independent asset management company specializing in the management of alternative funds, has announced the creation of a fund dedicated to investing in mini-bonds of small and medium-sized Italian companies, in collaboration with the advisor Crescitalia.
The closed-end fund called Hi CrescItalia Pmi Fund has a funding target of 250 million euro, with a subscription period of one year. The duration of the fund is eight years from the end of the investment period.
The fund is aimed above all at institutional investors and has as its objective bond issues of between 1 and 3 million euro, with a 5 or 7 year maturity. The fund will fully subscribe the bond, holding it at maturity (therefore it will not be necessary for the bond to be listed on a regulated market).
The companies looked at by the fund must have at least a turnover of 7,5 million euros, 20 employees and have been in business for at least 5 years. Potential issuers must also have an adequately structured balance sheet for at least the last three years, internationalization and innovation projects and an 'investment grade' rating from Crif.
All the issues in the portfolio will enjoy a partial guarantee: one of the guarantee lenders will be Sace, with which the fund has entered into a collaboration agreement.
"Our goal is not to be an alternative to bank credit but complementary, in particular as regards medium-long loans" explained the vice president of Hedge Invest Paolo Massi during the presentation of the fund, adding that the cost of the loan for the issuing company should be between 5,5% and 7,5%.
