Swiss bank mulls pulling assets from hedge funds

Due to large losses from Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme, Union Bancaire Privée is threatening to pull billions of dollars of assets from some of the largest U.S. hedge funds because they don’t use a full-time independent administrator, according to a spokesman for the Geneva bank. Some of the hedge managers from which UBP is planning to withdraw funds are D.E. Shaw & Co. and Renaissance Technologies LLC, both of New York, Caxton Associates LLC of Princeton, N.J., and SAC Capital Advisors LLC of Stamford, Conn., the spokesman said. A Renaissance spokeswoman declined to comment. The press offices at D.E. Shaw, SAC Capital and Caxton didn’t immediately respond to phone calls seeking comment. UBP acknowledged last month that it had about $700 million in exposure to New York-based Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC through funds of funds and client portfolios. UBP is one of the world's largest investors in hedge funds, with $124.5 billion in assets under management as of June 30.