Cazenove and Dexion seek to raise $612M

Investor appetite for hedge funds will be gauged today as London-listed closed-end funds will reportedly announce plans to raise a combined $612 million according to the Financial Times reported. The funds, which are run by Cazenove and Dexion, are aiming to raise new money after strong demand pushed their shares to a premium to net asset values, according to the report. The fundraising efforts — using both C share issues — come despite one of the worst months on record for hedge funds in August, when almost every strategy was badly hit and some big-name funds plummeted in value. Dexion said that is aiming to raise $408.6 million for its $1.25 billion Dexion Absolute fund, already the largest of the listed funds of hedge funds, according to the report. Cazenove is aiming to raise about $71.5 million to double the size of its Absolute Equity fund, which invests in five hedge funds run by Cazenove, with an upper limit of raising $204.3 million, the report stated.