Hedge fund guru and world-renowned art collector Nicolas Berggruen sits at the helm of a more than $1 billion (Rs4,100 crore) fund, which has put a minimum of $300 million in India. The difference between his fund and the hundreds of other funds flooding India is that he has no investors to solicit or answer to. Berggruen Holdings Inc. invests Berggruen’s own money, which he has grown over decades from an initial pool of family money that he describes as “modest”. The proprietary funds give him an advantage, says the Paris-born German who resides part of the year in New York and the rest in various other cities across the world. Berggruen can nimbly make investments across all asset classes, including private equity deals, seed funding, real estate development, fund-of-funds, public market securities, hedge funds, and industrial project investments. He can infuse more funds as needed and stay invested without artificial exit requirements set by investors who need their money back. And the economic ups and downs that impact investors of funds, such as the subprime crisis that has hit the US with an international ripple effect, will not be a problem for him. In fact, it could well be an advantage for him in India. Berggruen says, “Less liquidity means less competition.” Although India is not a top market for the fund, which has offices across the US, Europe and Asia, with heavy investment in the former two, Berggruen has high hopes to be a part of growing India.   more »