Superfund Group
Encyclopedia
Superfund is a fund
provider, specializing in managed futures
, which is considered an alternative investment
.
The company's funds are held by at least 50,000 institutional and private investors worldwide. Superfund was founded in 1996 by Christian Baha in Vienna
, Austria
, and employs at least 430 people. Its office locations include New York
, Chicago
, Frankfurt
, Tokyo
, Hong Kong
, Singapore
, Amsterdam
, Monaco
, Vienna
, Stockholm
, Dubai
, São Paulo
, Montevideo
, Grenada
and Zurich
.
All of Superfund's funds utilize algorithmic trading
that operate a trend following
approach to their trading decisions. The returns of Superfund's products are designed with the objective of minimal correlation to traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, commodities, and real estate. The funds continually track over 100 global commodity and financial futures markets for trends and place long or short positions if the trading system identifies a trend in either direction.
, sports teams and personalities like Austrian soccer team Kapfenberger SV
and World Cup overall champion alpine skier Bode Miller
, and some other pop-culture events such as the Women's World Award
s.
Superfund has been involved in auto racing
, briefly sponsoring the Minardi
team in Formula One
and attempting to start its own formula racing
series, which fell through. A team owned by Austrian driver Alexander Wurz
and backed by Superfund has lodged an entry for the 2010 Formula One season
.
Superfund has advertised on CNBC.
In June 2010, a statement from Superfund said the company will also discontinue most of its sport sponsoring activities.
In October 2010 Christian Baha founder and owner of Superfund has been given a cameo in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" the sequel to the 1987 original "Wall Street", thanks to a friendship with director.
Baha counts Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone among the clients of his Superfund. Christian Baha played a supporting role as a hedge fund chief enjoying a small speaking role.
Collective investment scheme
A collective investment scheme is a way of investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group...
provider, specializing in managed futures
Managed Futures Account
A managed futures account or managed futures fund is a type of alternative investment. Managed futures accounts include, but are not limited to, commodity pools and commodity funds...
, which is considered an alternative investment
Alternative investment
An alternative investment is an investment product other than the traditional investments of stocks, bonds, cash, or property. The term is a relatively loose one and includes tangible assets such as art, wine, antiques, coins, or stamps and some financial assets such as commodities, private equity,...
.
The company's funds are held by at least 50,000 institutional and private investors worldwide. Superfund was founded in 1996 by Christian Baha in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, and employs at least 430 people. Its office locations include New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Frankfurt
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
, Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, São Paulo
São Paulo
São Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest city in the southern hemisphere and South America, and the world's seventh largest city by population. The metropolis is anchor to the São Paulo metropolitan area, ranked as the second-most populous metropolitan area in the Americas and among...
, Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
, Grenada
Grenada
Grenada is an island country and Commonwealth Realm consisting of the island of Grenada and six smaller islands at the southern end of the Grenadines in the southeastern Caribbean Sea...
and Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
.
History
On March 8, 1996, Baha launched his first alternative investment product for private investors, the Superfund Q-AG (now closed to new investors), which was one of the world’s first retail managed futures funds. In 2002, Superfund received admission for sale by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to offer its funds in the United States. In 2003 Superfund was internationally launched as the new generation of Quadriga's funds, and in 2004 Quadriga renamed itself Superfund.All of Superfund's funds utilize algorithmic trading
Algorithmic trading
In electronic financial markets, algorithmic trading or automated trading, also known as algo trading, black-box trading or robo trading, is the use of electronic platforms for entering trading orders with an algorithm deciding on aspects of the order such as the timing, price, or quantity of the...
that operate a trend following
Trend following
Trend following is an investment strategy that tries to take advantage of long-term moves that seem to play out in various markets. The strategy aims to work on the market trend mechanism and take benefit from both sides of the market, enjoying the profits from the ups and downs of the stock or...
approach to their trading decisions. The returns of Superfund's products are designed with the objective of minimal correlation to traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, commodities, and real estate. The funds continually track over 100 global commodity and financial futures markets for trends and place long or short positions if the trading system identifies a trend in either direction.
Marketing
Superfund promotes its funds by sponsoring cultural institutions like the Viennese Symphony Orchestra and the American Ballet TheatreAmerican Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
, sports teams and personalities like Austrian soccer team Kapfenberger SV
Kapfenberger SV
Kapfenberger SV is an Austrian association football club from Kapfenberg. In the 2007/08 Austrian Football First League season they became champion and advanced to Austrian Bundesliga. The club was founded in 1919 as Kapfenberger SC...
and World Cup overall champion alpine skier Bode Miller
Bode Miller
Samuel Bode Miller is an American alpine ski racer. He is an Olympic and World Championship gold medalist, a two-time overall World Cup champion in 2005 and 2008, and is generally considered the greatest American alpine skier of all time...
, and some other pop-culture events such as the Women's World Award
Women's World Award
Winners of the Women's World Award, sponsored by the World Awards organization headed by former USSR President Mikhail Gorbachev, intended for women who have influenced the world by their work in areas such as society or politics. The award has been given since 2004. No monetary prize is attached;...
s.
Superfund has been involved in auto racing
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...
, briefly sponsoring the Minardi
Minardi
Minardi was an automobile racing team and constructor founded in 1979 by Giancarlo Minardi. It competed in the Formula One World Championship from 1985 until 2005 with little success, nevertheless acquiring a loyal following of fans...
team in Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
and attempting to start its own formula racing
Formula racing
Formula racing is a term that refers to various forms of open wheeled single seater motorsport. Its origin lies in the nomenclature that was adopted by the FIA for all of its post-World War II single seater regulations, or formulae. The best known of these formulæ are Formula One, Formula Two, and...
series, which fell through. A team owned by Austrian driver Alexander Wurz
Alexander Wurz
Alexander Wurz is an Austrian racing driver. He competed in Formula One from until , and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours....
and backed by Superfund has lodged an entry for the 2010 Formula One season
2010 Formula One season
The 2010 Formula One season was the 61st Formula One season of World Championship motor racing competition. Red Bull Racing won its maiden Constructors' Championship with a one-two finish in Brazil, while Red Bull Racing's Sebastian Vettel won the Drivers' Championship after winning the final race...
.
Superfund has advertised on CNBC.
In June 2010, a statement from Superfund said the company will also discontinue most of its sport sponsoring activities.
In October 2010 Christian Baha founder and owner of Superfund has been given a cameo in "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" the sequel to the 1987 original "Wall Street", thanks to a friendship with director.
Baha counts Academy Award-winning director Oliver Stone among the clients of his Superfund. Christian Baha played a supporting role as a hedge fund chief enjoying a small speaking role.