A HEDGE fund that is about to float on the stock market will reserve the right to buy out unsophisticated shareholders.

RAB Special Situations Company, which is effectively a listed hedge fund, also intends to write to new investors warning them of the risks.

“We want to ensure that people who invest in our strategy have a proper understanding of the risks,” said Michael Alen-Buckley, chairman of RAB Capital, which manages the £100 million fund.

“This has been put in as a safeguard,” he said, adding that it had not been decided under what circumstances inexperienced shareholders would be forced to sell.

Philosophically, he said, he wanted hedge funds to be available to as wide a portion of investors as possible. “But we want to stay well within the rules that exist,” he said.

A spokeswoman for the new company said the power would be used only in extreme circumstances and was legal.

The company will be a listed closed-end investment company run in tandem with RAB’s successful existing hedge fund, RAB Special Situations.

The two investment pots will be pooled in a master fund, so that both vehicles will be invested in the same way.

RAB Special Situations, managed by Philip Richards, made a fortune buying early into the mining and resources boom two years ago. It has produced a return of more than 2,500 per cent since January 1 2003, although it has lost some money in the past few weeks because of the weakness in the sector.

Investors in the initial offering will be required to make a minimum investment of £25,000, but once listed, nothing can stop investors buying smaller share parcels.

It will join a trio of UK listed hedge funds managed under the Dexion umbrella.

Hedge funds have traditionally been the domaine of sophisticated investors, requiring an investment of £100,000. But Merrill Lynch is close to launching a unit trust with hedge fund characteristics to investors paying in just £250 a month.

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