Factsheet July 2008

    RNS Number : 8705B
  Bramdean Alternatives Limited
  22 August 2008
   

    RNS Announcement 

    22 August 2008

    Factsheet July 2008

    Bramdean Alternatives Limited

    This Factsheet contains commentary and news for the calendar month ending 31st July 2008, unless otherwise stated. 

    July Estimated Net Asset Values

    Sterling shares:      99.42 pence 

    U.S. Dollar shares: US$ 0.9836


    Overview
    Bramdean Alternatives Limited, (the "Company") is a Guernsey-based Investment Company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Company
invests in a diversified portfolio of private equity funds, hedge funds and other specialty funds.


 KEY FACTS

       Market Capitalisation                                          £110.4 million

                      Manager                          Bramdean Asset Management LLP

        Annual Management Fee                                                   1.5%

 Performance fee                 10% subject to an 8% return and a high watermark

              Company Brokers                                  Cenkos Securities Plc

  Sterling class share price on                                               78.25p
               31st July 2008  

     Sterling class issue price                                              100.00p
              (9th July 2007)  

 Number of Sterling shares in    97,751,842
 issue  

  U.S. Dollar class share price                                             US$ 1.01
            on 31st July 2008  

  U.S. Dollar class issue price                                             US$ 1.00
              (9th July 2007)  

   Number of U.S. Dollar shares                                           65,988,142
                     in issue  

           Minimum investment                                                    N/A

                      Dealing                                                  Daily

                    Valuation                                                Monthly

              NAV publication                                                Monthly

    July Sterling Estimated NAV                                          99.42 pence
                    per share  

 July U.S. Dollar Estimated NAV                                           US$ 0.9836
                    per share  

          Total common assets                                        US$ 258,442,316

      Total Estimated Net Asset                                      US$ 257,409,620
                        Value  

                Half-year end                                    30th September 2008

           Financial year end                                        31st March 2009

 Company Secretary and           Royal Bank of Canada Offshore Fund Managers Limited
 Administrator     

                    Registrar                   Capita Registrars (Guernsey) Limited

  Stock Exchange code (Sterling                                                 BRAL
                      shares)  

 Stock Exchange code (US Dollar                                                 BRAU
                      shares)  

 Sedol code (Sterling shares)                                                B1XCHB9

 Sedol code (US Dollar shares)                                               B1XCLF1

  ISIN code (Sterling shares)                                           GG00B1XCHB94

 ISIN code (US Dollar shares)                                           GG00B1XCLF11


    JULY MARKET COMMENTARY

    July opened to confirmation that the first six months of 2008 had been the worst for global stocks for 26 years. The first day of
trading in July saw stocks continue the pattern with all major indices registering drops as oil hovered around the $141 a barrel mark. 

    Commodities opened the month sharply higher for a variety of reasons. Sugar soared 5% on news that Brazil will convert more cane into
ethanol biofuel; cocoa hit an all-time high amid fears about the crop in the Ivory Coast to stand 60% up this year; soyabeans hit a record
high on worries that the U.S. harvest could disappoint; and gold reached a 10-week high. 

    After the first week of trading, the S&P 500 index was hovering by the slimmest possible margin above the official mark of a bear
market, having fallen by 19.99% from its peak in October 2007. The index subsequently ceded defeat, sliding into official bear market
territory. The VIX index, which measures equity volatility, touched a three-month high; oil fell to $136, down $10 in the space of a single
week. 

    As the month progressed, trading remained volatile and highly tuned to news from the financials sector, economic news, commodities and
the oil price. Fears about the strength of the two U.S. government-sponsored mortgage financiers sent the shares of those companies plunging
and prompted emergency support from the Federal Reserve. As the Fed Chairman signalled 'numerous difficulties ahead', equity markets lurched
downwards, the Dollar sank to an all-time low of $/EUR1.6038 and gold rallied to a four-month high. UK and U.S. inflation numbers for June
were both significantly higher than forecast. In the case of the UK, inflation of 3.8% was twice the Bank of England target.

    As the month closed, oil had dropped below $125 a barrel for the first time in six weeks, triggering declines in other commodities. The
FTSE-100 index ended July down 3.8%; the FTSE Eurofirst 300 index was down 1.77%, the S&P 500 index was down 0.99% and the MSCI World index
was down 1.08%. The Dollar had scraped back from its lows, closing at $/EUR1.56 and $/£1.98 against the Euro and Sterling respectively. 

    PORTFOLIO NEWS

    General

    The underlying unaudited performance in July was -1.67% for the Sterling share class and
    -1.69% for the U.S Dollar share class. This compares to falls of 2.7% and 2.6% for the HFRI Fund of Funds Composite Index and Credit
Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index. 

    There are 36 holdings in the Company's overall portfolio. During the month, the investment manager sold its holding in Abchurch Europe
Fund Limited and reinvested the proceeds in Alydar Fund Limited, a Boston-based long/short equity fund. 

    In mid-July, the Company appointed Mesirow Financial Currency Management with the dual aim of protecting the portfolio from currency
movements and of generating alpha. Mesirow will maintain a default hedge at 70% of the Company's major currency exposures, but it has
discretion to change that ratio according to market conditions.  

    The stand-out performer during July was Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund Limited. Overall, the Company's hedge fund investments
experienced widely varying fortunes during the month with Atticus European, Enso global Equities Fund Limited, York Asian Opportunities Unit
Trust, Hard Assets 2X, King Street Capital Limited and Lansdowne UK Equity Fund finding market conditions particularly tough going.
Encouraging resilience was displayed by Rye Select Broad Market XL Portfolio Limited, D.E. Shaw Oculus International Members Interest,
Kaiser Trading Diversified 2X Segregated Portfolio, Aarkad plc and Defender Limited.  

    We are making changes to the Company's Transitional portfolio to reduce the exposure to market volatility. We expect to increase
investment in absolute return, market neutral and relative value funds during September and October following redemptions from five of the
Company's eight holdings in the Transitional portfolio, as described in more detail below. The Company continues to hold a significant
amount of cash, which amounted to 9.4% of the portfolio at 31 July 2008. 


    Private Equity and Specialty


    The Company has now made commitments to sixteen underlying private equity funds and underlying specialty funds amounting to
approximately $223 million. No new commitments were made during July. 

    The total amount that has been drawn-down on the commitments made is approximately $63 million, with approximately $4.1 million of
capital having been drawn-down in July. The Company received one distribution during July from Coller International Partners V L.P. and has
now received total distributions of $1.9 million since inception.

    The private equity and specialty portfolios are performing as expected, with much of the portfolio going through the J-curve currently
and so experiencing the initial losses that are typically incurred as  private equity firms begin improving their portfolio companies. The
secondaries private equity funds are providing support for the portfolio, continuing with distributions as expected to balance against the
capital calls for other funds. Some of the 2006 investments are coming to a stage where they are starting to consider exit options and
pricing. The value of some investments has been written up to reflect both impending exits as well as operating improvements in their
portfolio companies. The distressed debt managers to which the Company committed late last year and earlier this year have started investing
into certain quality distressed situations during the current quarter, as the investment manager had anticipated. These commitments are
expected to draw heavily over the next two years to take advantage of the prime opportunity for distressed assets and are expected to generate good returns as a result.


    Transitional Portfolio

    The portfolio held eight funds at 31 July. It returned -1.4%, including cash, during July and has returned an unaudited -1.9%, including
cash, in the calendar year-to-date compared with -5.0% year-to-date return for the HFRI Fund of Funds Composite Index and -2.1% for the
Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index. Since inception, the portfolio has returned -0.5%. 

    The portfolio's holding in Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund International L.P. was a strong performer during the month, while
holdings in defensive and market neutral stocks, Aarkad plc and Defender Ltd, once again continued to deliver steady monthly returns.

    Our Transitional portfolio is designed to manage the cash that the Company commits to private equity and specialty funds but has yet to
be drawn-down. The Company may seek to implement portfolio protection through the use of derivatives from time to time for some portion of
the Transitional portfolio, though the Company has not used derivatives for this purpose to date.

    The Transitional portfolio was set up with three aspirations; to reflect private equity-type characteristics and returns, to preserve
capital over the medium-term and to be as liquid as possible so that the Company can meet its capital calls. Initially, to achieve these
aims the portfolio was largely invested in a series of specialist global equity managers, long/short equity and event-driven managers as
these classes demonstrate the most similar characteristics to private equity. The portfolio also aimed to reduce exposure to market risk
through market neutral and relative value funds. 

    In response to the continuing market turbulence, the investment manager has been reducing the emphasis on achieving private equity-type
returns and increasing the focus on capital preservation. In this context, the investment manager has submitted redemption notices to five
of its eight managers and a switch notice to one manager. It will retain only Aarkad Plc and Defender Limited from its original portfolio of
managers. The holding in Renaissance is being switched to Renaissance Institutional Futures Fund International L.P., effective 1 September
2008. The repositioning of the Company's Transitional portfolio is being implemented to reduce the exposure to long-only equities in favour
of absolute return, market neutral and defensive stocks. The investment manager intends to reinvest the proceeds from the five redemptions
during September and October 2008. 



    Strategic Hedge Funds Portfolio

    It was an arduous month for global markets, as sector rotation and sharp reversals made for difficult trading conditions. The portfolio
held up reasonably well, although was unable to avoid losses. The portfolio held 12 funds at 31 July. It returned -1.8% during July and has
returned an unaudited +6.1% in the calendar year-to-date. Since inception, the portfolio has returned an unaudited +16.2%. 


    Portfolio Highlights

    Equity Hedged
    It was a volatile month for the style, which posted a loss. Our European manager's bias against financials and in favour of mining hit
the portfolio returns as these sectors were exposed to rapid market rotation. Our dedicated short seller profited from single stock
positions in energy, tech and utilities, with the largest overall gain coming from the fund's levered short index hedge. 

    Event Driven
    The style posted a loss, attributed in the main to the special situations managers, which had a difficult time amidst the extreme
volatility in equity markets during July. One manager was severely impacted by its net long exposure, posting losses due to the reversal in
financial stocks combined with the large sell off in energy and mining. Our distressed manager was down as credit markets suffered similar
volatility to equity markets, with cash markets underperforming synthetic markets.

    Global Macro
    The sharp corrections in commodities were detrimental to the style, leading to a loss during the month.  While our commodities manager
was driven downwards by energy and agricultural exposure, our global trader was better positioned to seize opportunities in the tumultuous
environment. The manager's equity statistical arbitrage strategy performed well, taking advantage of the U.S. equity sector rotation. 


    Managed Futures
    Managed Futures ended its positive run, posting a loss for the month as the trading environment favoured short-term trend followers over
long-term traders.The collapse in energy prices created ripples in other sectors, driving bonds and equities up, leading one manager to
profit from positions in bond and equities indices. Despite negative performance for the month, another manager was able to find profitable
pockets in the portfolio, benefiting from short Nikkei positions and Japanese Government Bonds. 

    Relative Value
    The style posted a loss this month, amidst inconsistent volatility levels, spiking towards the beginning of the month and retreating
month-end. The multi-strategy manager was negatively affected by the industry-wide deleveraging, although the manager's defensive
positioning was able to offset some losses through its U.S.-centric equity long/short strategy. Despite the big gyrations in implied and
realised volatility, one quantitative manager profited from its derivative strategy focusing on the S&P 100 Index.  



    Geographical Allocation 
 North America         39.2%
 Global                       29.3%
 Europe                     26.6%
 Asia & Other             4.9%


    Portfolio Holdings Asset Allocation 
 Transitional                        34.2%
 Strategic Hedge Funds    33.9%
 Private Equity                    18.0%
 Cash                                    9.4%
 Specialty                             4.5%




    PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS (INVESTED CAPITAL) ON 31st July 2008

 Manager                                    Type           Portfolio Weighting
 Cash                                       Cash                  9.4%
 Platinum Grove Contingent Capital      Transitional              6.5%
 Offshore Fund Ltd.
 York European Opportunities Unit       Transitional              5.8%
 Trust
 Enso Global Equities Fund Ltd.         Transitional              5.7%
 D.E. Shaw Oculus International     Strategic Hedge Funds         4.4%
 Members Interest
 Defender Ltd.                          Transitional              4.3%
 Greenpark International Investors     Private Equity             4.2%
 III L.P.
 Paulson Advantage Plus Ltd.        Strategic Hedge Funds         3.7%
 Hard Assets 2X Fund Ltd.           Strategic Hedge Funds         3.7%
 Terra Firma Capital Partners III      Private Equity             3.7%
 L.P.
 Rye Select Broad Market XL         Strategic Hedge Funds         3.7%
 Portfolio Ltd.
 Lansdowne UK Equity                Strategic Hedge Funds         3.4%
 Thomas H. Lee Parallel Fund VI        Private Equity             3.3%
 L.P.
 Deephaven Global Multi-Strategy    Strategic Hedge Funds         3.2%
 Fund Ltd.
 Renaissance Institutional              Transitional              3.1%
 Equities Fund International L.P.
 Aarkad Plc                             Transitional              3.1%
 Alydar Fund Limited                Strategic Hedge Funds         3.0%
 York Asian Opportunities Unit          Transitional              2.9%
 Trust
 Oak Hill Credit Alpha Fund             Transitional              2.8%
 Offshore Ltd.
 King Street Capital Ltd.           Strategic Hedge Funds         2.2%
 Kei Ltd.                           Strategic Hedge Funds         2.1%
 Arcas MAC 79 Ltd.                  Strategic Hedge Funds         2.0%
 Goldman Sachs Capital Partners VI     Private Equity             2.0%
 L.P.
 Strategic Recovery Fund II L.P.          Specialty               1.8%
 MatlinPatterson Global                   Specialty               1.6%
 Opportunities Partners III L.P.
 Kaiser Trading Diversified 2X      Strategic Hedge Funds         1.5%
 Segregated Portfolio
 Coller International Partners V       Private Equity             1.5%
 L.P.
 DFJ Athena                            Private Equity             0.8%
 Lehman Brothers Venture Partners      Private Equity             0.8%
 V L.P. 
 Atticus European Fund Ltd.         Strategic Hedge Funds         0.8%
 AIG Brazil Special Situations II      Private Equity             0.7%
 L.P.
 Silver Lake Partners III L.P.         Private Equity             0.6%
 Pine Brook Capital Partners L.P.         Specialty               0.5%
 Oaktree OCM Opportunities Fund           Specialty               0.4%
 VIIb L.P.
 Thoma Bravo Fund IX L.P               Private Equity             0.3%
 Rho Ventures VI L.P.                  Private Equity             0.1%
 HIG Bayside Debt &LBO II Fund           Specialty                 0.07%
 L.P.



    This Factsheet has been produced by Bramdean Asset Management LLP, authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. It is
aimed solely at shareholders of Bramdean Alternatives Limited and it should not be relied upon by any other person.

    Please note that Bramdean Asset Management LLP has obtained information from a wide variety of sources for the content of this
Factsheet. Whilst it has made reasonable endeavours to verify such information, this Factsheet should not be used as the exclusive basis of
any investment decisions. It relates to a relatively short time period whilst many of the investments of Bramdean Alternatives Ltd are of a
long-term nature.

    Bramdean Alternatives Limited invests in high risk alternative investment vehicles. It is
    aimed at professional or sophisticated investors who intend to hold their investment
    for the longer term. If you are not a professional or sophisticated investor you should take independent financial advice in relation to
any proposed investment in 
Bramdean Alternatives Limited.

    Please note that up to date information on the Company, including its monthly NAV and share prices, fact sheets, Prospectus and
portfolio information can be found at www.bramdeanalternatives.com. 

    This Factsheet will be available on www.bramdeanalternatives.com in PDF format in due course.

    Capita Registrar's helpline is 0871 664 0300 (Calls cost 10 pence per minute plus network extras). For callers outside the UK, please
dial: [phone]. 


    Registered Office: Canada Court, Upland Road, St. Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 3QE, Channel Islands.


    CONTACT DETAILS

    Amanda McCrystal, or [e-mail]
    Bramdean Asset Management LLP. 35 Park Lane, London W1K 1RB, United Kingdom 

    T+44 (0)20 7052 9272 F+44 (0)20 7052 9273 W www.bramdean.com



This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
 
  END 
 
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