The new firm, called Peregrine Asset Management, will provide alternative investment choices within the managed futures marketplace for both high net worth and institutional investors.

Vice chairman of the parent company PFGBEST.com, Neil Aslin, has been named as president of PAM.  Stephen Luongo has been appointed managing director of institutional development, and John Courtright will be vice president of marketing and business development.

Mr Aslin said: “PAM’s goal is to identify the best CTAs and put them together in a fund that gives clients access to alternative strategies that complement the holdings they already have in their portfolios.”

PFGBEST.com chairman and chief executive, Russell Wasendorf, added: “The experience that we have developed in managed futures helped us bring our latest fund, PECTA, to market in 2005.  Following our very positive experience with PECTA, a single CTA fund, we will soon be launching PECTA II, a multi-advisor, multi-strategy fund.  Going forward, we will have numerous products to offer sophisticated investors and the institutional marketplace, through PAM.”

PFGBEST.com is a Chicago-based non-clearing US futures commission merchant which has clients, affiliates and brokerage offices in over 80 countries. In addition to providing trading and investment products for high net worth and institutional clients, the firm also offers services for retail investors, such as direct online futures trading.