BTG Pactual to keep full ownership of GEMM hedge fund - asset management CEO

LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) - BTG Pactual 's flagship global macro hedge fund will remain 100 percent owned by BTG (LSE: BTG.L - news) but have an independent board, the chief executive of the Brazilian bank's fund arm said on Friday.

BTG Pactual had been considering a sale or management buy-out of the $4 billion fund, industry sources said.

"We have informed investors that GEMM (global emerging markets and macro fund) will remain 100 percent owned by BTG, now within a separate legal entity, rather than just a business unit, with an independent board to ensure even better transparency and continued good governance," Steve Jacobs, BTG (Other OTC: BTGYY - news) Pactual Asset Management's chief executive, told Reuters in an email.

"The investment team, middle and back office remains unchanged," he said.

BTG Pactual cut about 18 percent of Brazil-based staff on Thursday in an effort to rein in costs by 25 percent as part of a restructuring in the wake of the arrest of billionaire founder André Esteves. (Reporting by Carolyn Cohn; editing by Simon Jessop)