In early 2014, New York-based fund-of-funds firm Arden Asset Management landed a deal that helped boost firmwide assets from $6.1 billion to $11.4 billion by year-end. The Massachusetts Pension Reserves Investment Management Board, better known as MassPRIM, selected Arden from a pool of 17 candidates as its hedge fund investment consultant after Marina del Rey, California consultancy Cliffwater’s three-year contract with MassPRIM expired. Arden had to yield a little bit to seal the deal: The fund of funds charges the $61.9 billion Boston-based pension scheme $750,000 a year, or about half of what Cliffwater charged. But the New York-based firm’s impressive hedge fund database and willingness to do due diligence on MassPRIM’s behalf also helped the firm triumph above the competition…
