Rainer-Marc Frey (born January 10, 1963) is a Swiss businessman and investor. He is active in the Swiss financial services sector and the international hedge fund industry.
Rainer-Marc Frey was born on January 10, 1963, in the Swiss canton of Basel-Landschaft. Following his Matura graduation in economics at the Gymnasium of Liestal, he studied economics at the renowned University of St. Gallen. He graduated summa cum laude with a degree in economics (lic. oec. HSG) in 1986.
After his studies, he was at the American investment banks Merrill Lynch and Salomon Brothers. At Salomon Brothers, he opened new trading departments in Zürich and Frankfurt. He left the firm in 1992 and founded his own hedge fund – the RMF Investment Group - along with two partners in Zug.
RMF Investment Group was a hedge fund, which aimed to achieve above-average returns compared to the reference market and reduce risk through hedging strategies. Although the concept was initially met with skepticism among investors in Switzerland, RMF achieved positive results by making gains in sideways or negative trending markets through trading on Japanese warrants and convertible bonds. Despite difficult periods like the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the dot-com bubble burst in 2001, RMF's investment thesis proved successful, leading to collaborations with institutional investors such as LGT Group, Swiss Life, and Credit Suisse.[1] [2] By 2002, RMF had become one of Europe's leading alternative asset managers, with assets under management reaching USD 8.5 billion.[3]
That same year, Man Group plc made a takeover offer of approximately CHF 1.35 billion for RMF, which was accepted by RMF's shareholders.[4] Through this acquisition, Man Group became the world's largest provider of hedge fund investments. As part of the deal, RMF's 12-member management team committed itself to remain on board at the merged company for 3 years.
The sale of his stake in RMF resulted in proceeds of approximately CHF 500 million for Frey. However, Frey and his partners continued to pursue new business ideas. In 2004 already, they founded their next investment firm, which would specialize in alternative investments, Horizon 21 AG, headquartered in Pfäffikon, Schwyz.
In September 2005, Swiss Re became a strategic partner to Horizon21 and acquired a 20% stake in the Horizon21 Alternative Investments business unit. A year later, the partnership between the two firms grew stronger, as they joined efforts in the private equity fund of funds business. Horizon21 took over the private equity activities of Swiss Re, which in turn bought 30% of the Horizon21 Private Equity Holding.[5]
Since the inception of Horizon21, the management of the founders’ and partners’ wealth has been a focal point of its activities. Following a strategic re-orientation in 2010, Horizon21 positioned itself as a private investment office and it tailors its activities around the founders’ and partners’ investment needs.[6]
Since the sale of RMF, Frey has been an industrial investor through stakes in several companies. As private investor and majority shareholder, he was able to share his entrepreneurial experiences with the companies in which he invested.
In October 2008, Frey was named onto the Board of Directors of the then crisis-ridden UBS. The nomination of Frey was intended to bring back more knowledge of the financial industry into the board of directors.[7] Frey was considered an independent spirit with a strong voice.[8] He was a member of the Risk Committee, as well as the Audit Committee, and was later also appointed to the Human Resources and Compensation Committee. In April 2014, he decided not to present himself for reelection to the board of directors to pursue other professional engagements.
Frey is a member of the Board of Directors of DKSH since 2008 and he serves on the Audit and Strategy Committees. DKSH is an internationally active market expansion services group, which is deeply rooted in communities across Asia Pacific and headquartered in Zürich. Frey holds a 3.9% equity stake in DKSH.[9]
Since 2010, he also holds a stake of currently 8.67% in the Swiss pharmaceuticals company Siegfried Holding AG, based in Zofingen.[10]
Frey is the main shareholder and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Lonrho Holdings Ltd since 2013. The company is a diversified conglomerate, which is active in Sub-Saharan Africa. He submitted a takeover bid to the former shareholders in 2013 alongside Swiss entrepreneur Thomas Schmidheiny. The takeover was finalized on July 19, 2013, and taken private for a value of CHF 270 million.[11]
Frey is the Vice-President of the Board of the Frey Charitable Foundation (FCF), founded in 2004. In Africa, FCF focuses on supporting outstanding social entrepreneurs in a variety of thematic areas.[12]
In his free time, Frey is a pilot.