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Funder Spotlight: Hedonova

Hedonova is a hedge fund that was established in 2020, and it specializes in alternative investments. The company has offices located in various parts of the world, making it accessible to investors from different regions. Alternative investments are unique investment opportunities that do not conform to the standard categories of investments such as stocks and bonds. Hedonova’s portfolio of alternative investments encompasses a diverse range of assets, including startups, real estate, fine art, wine, and cryptocurrencies.

The fund structure of Hedonova is based on a single fund structure that provides an excellent investment option for shareholders who wish to invest without the burden of managing the day-to-day distribution of their investments. This structure provides an added advantage to investors who have limited knowledge or experience in managing investments. Hedonova’s focus on alternative investments means that its portfolio diversifies risk, offering investors an excellent hedge against the volatility of conventional investment categories. The unique combination of alternative investment and the single fund structure makes Hedonova an attractive investment option for savvy investors looking for high-yield, low-risk investments.

Website: https://www.hedonova.io/
Founded: 2019
Headquarters: Los Angeles, CA USA

About Hedonova

At Hedonova, our mission is to provide high-yield, low-risk investment opportunities to investors who are looking to diversify their portfolios beyond traditional investment categories. We specialize in alternative investments, which are unique and offer an excellent hedge against the volatility of conventional investment categories.

We believe that by offering a diverse range of alternative investments, we can create a portfolio that will protect investors from market fluctuations and generate consistent returns over the long term. Our single fund structure is designed to make investing in alternative assets accessible and hassle-free for all types of investors. We are committed to building long-lasting relationships with our investors based on trust, transparency, and open communication.

We believe that by fostering a strong partnership with our clients, we can better understand their unique needs and investment goals, and provide tailored investment solutions that meet their expectations. Our team of seasoned professionals has extensive experience in alternative investments and a deep understanding of market dynamics. We are dedicated to utilizing our expertise to identify and pursue investment opportunities that deliver optimal returns while minimizing risk.

Our ultimate goal at Hedonova is to generate consistent and sustainable returns for our investors over the long term. We believe that by combining our expertise, ethical values, and active portfolio management, we can provide our clients with a superior investment experience that empowers them to achieve their financial goals.

Points of Differentiation:

Alternative Investment Expertise: Hedonova specializes in alternative investments, which are unique investment opportunities that offer high returns and diversify risk. Our portfolio includes a range of assets, such as startups, real estate, fine art, wine, and cryptocurrencies, to provide our investors with a diverse range of investment opportunities.

Global Accessibility: Hedonova has offices located in various parts of the world, making it accessible to investors from different regions. We believe that by having a global presence, we can offer unique investment opportunities that are not available in local markets.

Single Fund Structure: Our single fund structure provides an excellent investment option for shareholders who wish to invest without the burden of managing the day-to-day distribution of their investments. This structure provides an added advantage to investors who have limited knowledge or experience in managing investments.

High-Yield, Low-Risk Investments: At Hedonova, we are committed to providing our investors with high-yield, low-risk investment opportunities. Our focus on alternative investments means that our portfolio diversifies risk, offering investors an excellent hedge against the volatility of conventional investment categories.

Active Portfolio Management: Hedonova’s experienced investment team actively manages our portfolio of alternative investments, staying up to date with market trends and seeking out new opportunities to optimize returns for our investors. This approach ensures that our portfolio is well-positioned to adapt to changing market conditions.

Ethical Investing: At Hedonova, we believe in investing ethically and sustainably. We carefully evaluate each investment opportunity to ensure that it aligns with our values and standards. By investing in socially responsible assets, we aim to generate returns that not only benefit our investors but also contribute to the betterment of society and the environment.

 Key Stakeholders

 Suman Bannerjee Chief Investment Officer 

Suman Bannerjee is a highly accomplished Chief Investment Officer (CIO) with over 20 years of experience in the financial industry. He currently serves as the CIO at Hedonova, a global alternative investment management firm, where he is responsible for managing the firm’s investment strategies and ensuring the performance of its portfolios. Before joining Hedonova, Suman held senior roles at several leading financial institutions, including Millennium and Société Générale Equipment Finance (SGEF). At Millennium, he served as the Global Portfolio Manager. In this role, he was responsible for designing and implementing investment strategies, managing the firm’s risk exposures, and generating returns for investors. At SGEF, he was the Vice President of Equipment Finance and Supply Chain Finance, where he oversaw the origination, underwriting, and management of equipment and supply chain finance transactions, and was responsible for ensuring the profitability and growth of the business. Suman earned his Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from the University of Cambridge, where he was a recipient of the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship. He is also a Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) charter holder and a member of the CAIA Association, which is the leading professional association for alternative investment professionals. Throughout his career, Suman has demonstrated deep expertise in investments, risk management, and portfolio management. He is highly regarded for his analytical skills, strategic thinking, and ability to identify and execute profitable investment opportunities. He has a track record of generating significant returns and has a reputation for being a trusted advisor to his clients.

Jurisdictions and Sectors Served

At Hedonova, we pride ourselves on being a truly global organization with a presence in some of the world’s most prominent financial centers. We have strategically chosen our office locations in Los Angeles, Delaware, Tallinn, and Paris to ensure that we can offer our investors unique investment opportunities that are not available in local markets.

Our team members are spread across every continent, and we believe that diversity is our strength. They come from various backgrounds and bring different perspectives, experiences, and expertise to the table. We believe that this diversity enables us to evaluate investment opportunities from multiple angles and make informed decisions that are in the best interest of our clients.

At Hedonova, we are open to everyone. We believe that everyone should have access to alternative investment opportunities, regardless of their location, background, or level of investment expertise. Our mission is to make investing in alternative assets accessible, hassle-free, and rewarding for all types of investors. Whether you are a seasoned investor or just starting, we are here to help you achieve your investment goals. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusivity, respect, and open communication.

We believe that by listening to our client’s feedback, we can continuously improve our services and better serve their unique needs. We are dedicated to building strong, long-lasting relationships with our clients based on trust, transparency, and mutual respect.

Key Metrics

Our investment strategy has generated a return of 32% in 2022, which significantly outperformed the market average for conventional investment categories such as stocks and bonds. This metric reflects our ability to identify and invest in alternative assets that deliver high returns while minimizing risk.

We believe that this level of performance is a testament to our active portfolio management, ethical investing principles, and commitment to delivering exceptional value to our clients.

Quotes from Key Stakeholders

“If you want to be wealthy, spend your time earning, learning, or relaxing. Outsource or ignore everything else.”

“Investing because you are scared to miss out on gains will leave you with larger losses.”

“Wealth is created by leverage. Leverage has different forms. Labor leverage is when you use someone else’s time, capital leverage is when you use someone else’s money. In the last two decades, code was leverage used to automate service delivery to billions. Now there’s another form of leverage – audience.

“Code, content, and capital is the new land, labor, and capital.”

“The best way to think about asset allocation between stocks and alternatives is timing. It’s best to invest in stocks when markets are at historical lows, and it’s best to invest in alternatives when inflation is high. “

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Community Spotlights

Community Spotlight: Scott Davis, Partner, Klarquist

By John Freund |

Scott focuses on intellectual property litigation, representing clients in courts throughout the U.S. He has had great success both obtaining relief for intellectual property owners and defending suits in a wide range of technical fields in cases involving patent, trade secret, unfair competition, employment agreement, copyright, DMCA, trademark, trade dress, product configuration, and false advertising claims.

Scott has litigated cases involving chemical, mechanical, medical device, internet, software, encryption, computer, clean energy, automotive, apparel, food, agricultural, and pharmaceutical technologies. Representing some of the largest companies in the world as well as smaller businesses and start-ups, he has succeeded for clients such as Adobe, British Airways, Columbia River Knife & Tool, Capsugel, Costco, Danner, DexCom, Intuit, Microsoft, Nightforce, Phibro Animal Health Corporation, SAP, SunModo, and Yelp.

Describing his past success and approach with the Klarquist litigation team, IAM Patent 1000 recently lauded Scott’s ability to assess the best strategies and his talent for understanding and simplifying complex technology, and noted that Scott will “always put your objectives first and act like a part of your team.”

Company Name and Description: Klarquist is a full-service intellectual property (IP) law firm with services including IP counseling, patents, trademarks, copyrights, litigation, and post-grant USPTO proceedings. Because we focus our practice exclusively on intellectual property, our prosecution professionals leverage a thorough understanding of our clients’ cutting-edge technology to an extent not seen in general practice firms. Our technical expertise covers biotechnology, physics and optics, chemistry, electrical and mechanical engineering, software and computer science, plants, and semiconductors.

Klarquist is one of the oldest and largest intellectual property law firms in the Pacific Northwest. For more than 80 years, the firm has provided intellectual property legal services to innovators of all stripes and sizes. The firm has over 60 attorneys and patent agents, more than 90% of whom hold technical degrees and many with doctorates in their respective fields. Klarquist professionals are adept at handling all phases of intellectual property matters, from procurement to transfer to litigation of disputes and post-grant review proceedings. Our roster of clients includes some of the most innovative companies and institutions in the world, from Amazon and Microsoft to the U.S. Government, which chooses Klarquist to procure its patents more than any other firm in the nation. As a full-service intellectual property boutique, Klarquist is uniquely equipped to handle any matter, for any innovator, in virtually every area of modern technology.

Website: www.klarquist.com

Year Founded: 1941

Headquarters: Portland, Oregon

Areas of Interest: Dispute resolution, litigation, and patent post grant proceedings.

Member Quote: "Litigation funding provides a key to unlock access to civil justice."

Case Developments Commercial

$170 Million Settlement Approved in Allianz Class Action

By Harry Moran |

A complex Australian class action that emerged through the consolidation of two separate group proceedings has reached a successful conclusion, with the court approving a large settlement and thereby marking a significant win for the litigation funder who backed the case. 

A post on LinkedIn from Balance Legal Capital highlighted the approval of the settlement in the Allianz class action, with the Supreme Court of Victoria approving the A$170 million sum to bring the group proceedings to a close. The class action, which Balance Legal Capital funded, was brought on behalf of over 200,000 Australian customers who purchased a vehicle and were then sold Allianz or Allianz Life “add-on” insurance products by the dealership, alleging that the insurers engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct.

Johnson Winter Slattery (JWS) and Maurice Blackburn Lawyers jointly represented the plaintiffs in the class action. In 2021, the Court had ordered the consolidation of this group proceeding with a similar class action against Allianz, resulting in two representative plaintiffs: Ms Tracy-Ann Fuller and Mr Wilkinson.

The judgment approving the proposed settlement was made today, with the court approving a $30,000 payment to the two plaintiffs. The court also maintained the Group Costs Order (GCO) of 25% of the settlement, with a $42.5 million payment set to be divided between JWS and Maurice Blackburn, with a further sum of up to $4.72 million allocated to Maurice Blackburn for the administering of the settlement distribution scheme. 

On the costs incurred by the law firms, Justice Matthews wrote that they were, “satisfied that the costs are reasonable and proportionate to the issues in dispute and the overall amount in dispute.” The judge went on to highlight that the class action “was a very large and complex proceeding and it is unsurprising that the costs are substantial.”

The full judgment and settlement approval orders can be read here. More information about the case can be found on the Allianz Class Action website.

Case Developments Commercial

Judge Halves Funder’s Legal Costs in Mastercard Case

By Harry Moran |

The dispute between Walter Merricks and Innsworth Capital in the Mastercard claim has been one of the most visible examples of a rift between a class representative and litigation funder. 

An article in The Law Society Gazette provides an update on the ongoing fallout from the settlement in the Mastercard litigation, as the acting president of the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) has described the funder’s legal costs of over £52,000 as “wholly disproportionate and unreasonable”. These comments came in a ruling on costs that Mr Justice Roth had ordered the class representative to pay, relating to the funder’s legal costs for responding to Mr Merricks’ application for a court order (‘Documents Application) that would have prevented the funder from using confidential documents in its intervention.

In his assessment of Innsworth’s submissions on costs, the judge accepted that the funder’s need to oppose the Documents Application was “critical to its ability to participate effectively in opposing the CSAO Application” and went on to say that he had “no criticism of the time spent by the solicitors.” However, Justice Roth did highlight the decision to instruct “both leading and junior counsel to advise on the response” and the fact that in this matter, “Akin Gump is charging at well over double, and in the case of the Grade B solicitor almost three times, the London 1 Guideline Rates.”

The ruling goes on to note that whilst Innsworth “may choose to agree with its solicitors to pay a much higher rate of fees”, it does not automatically follow “that costs incurred at those rates are recoverable from the other side”. Determining the final costs, Justice Roth settled on a reduction of the solicitors’ fees down from £26,355.50 to £12,000, and similarly reduced the counsel fees to £10,000, which he still described as “generous”. As a result, the final sum for Innsworth’s costs was set at £22,000.

The full ruling from Mr Justice Roth can be read here.