Quadriga Hedge Fund Ads Feature Moody Austrian

Rather than describe the Superfund, firm founder Christian Baha spotlights its mystery, and sends potential investors to the Internet to learn more.

"My name is Christian Baha," he observes. "I am the founder of the Superfund, a managed futures fund. You probably have no idea what a managed futures fund is, or any idea it's available for American investors. I would love to tell you more about Superfund, but regulations prevent me from describing it on television."

Last December, the SEC told Quadriga to remove the words "hedge fund" from its Superfund prospectus.

The National Association of Securities Dealers prohibits fund management companies from listing their performance in advertisements, which explains why Quadriga had to redo its campaign for the U.S. market.

Its European ads show a Formula One racecar sporting the company logo, a pit crew member holding a sign that reads 23% (a recent performance figure for the European version of the Superfund), and a soothing voiceover that promises "You can always win with Quadriga."

Baha said it took more than a year to find ad language that would satisfy U.S. regulators, but that a successful advertising campaign would help bring more money into the $30 million fund, which launched last November with seed capital of $2 million.

Quadriga has about $1.1 billion under management worldwide, with about 30,000 investors. It's not cheap -- Quadriga charges a 25% annual performance fee and a 1.85% annual management fee.

Last year, the Managed Futures Association, a lobbying group for the hedge fund industry, asked the SEC to allow hedge funds to run "tombstone advertisements," which would give the name of a fund, the type of securities it trades and contact information. The SEC has taken no action on the matter to date.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints