Quadriga Hedge Fund Ads Feature Moody Austrian

Europe's latest television export features an accented Austrian discussing his financial acumen while warning that the government is listening in.

"The Viennese Bachelor?" No, it's Quadriga Investment Group bringing its Superfund advertisements to U.S. television. While the spots are moody and alluring, cable viewers shouldn't expect to learn much about the business of the fund's manager from the commercials.

For Quadriga, a firm that has aggressively courted retail investors in Europe, the new advertisements are a sort of d¿tente with the U.S. regulations that ban hedge funds from advertising themselves -- or even mentioning their performance figures.

Quadriga wants to bring hedge fund strategies to the little guy, and will take them into their Superfund managed futures fund with a $5,000 minimum investment. The fund is sold as shares in a limited partnership, registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It's a big contrast from most U.S. hedge funds, which are lightly regulated private investment partnerships restricted to the very wealthiest investors. Minimum investments generally range between $250,000 and $1 million.

The Quadriga fund is not subject to the same restrictions, but does impose "suitability requirements." Investors need a minimum liquid net worth of $150,000 and an annual income of $45,000, though these requirements vary among states. California, for example, requires a net worth of $500,000 and a $150,00 annual income for investing in a futures traded limited partnership.

While the fund is called a managed futures fund in the United States, it uses the same "black box" computer trading model as Quadriga's other 17 hedge funds. The firm trades currencies, commodities, bonds and indexes, though investors will need to do a bit of work before they find that out.

The black and white, 30-second spots began airing today on CNBC, CNN, MSNBC and ESPN. Far from breaking ground, the commercial will probably make their strongest impression for what they can't say.