First Quarter 2016 FUND COMMENTARY FOR PURCHASE BY ACCREDITED INVESTORS ONLY Summary Market Overview: Q1 2016 Equity markets formed a V in the first quarter of 2016, dropping over 1 and then recovering with a gain of about 13%. Reminiscent of the market turbulence at the end of last summer, the decline was largely driven by concerns over global growth and broader energy market woes, fear of a China hard landing, and uncertainty around global central bank policy, particularly the Fed. 4.0 2.0 S&P 500 TR 2016 YTD 0.0 1/4 2.0 2/2 3/2 3/31 4.0 6.0 S&P500 TR Cumulative Return 8.0 10.0 12.0 These fears started to ebb in the latter part of the quarter, when the Fed backed off its more aggressive pace for 2016 and the ECB increased its stimulus. This has all helped to restore confidence and ballast the markets. BAAF Performance: Broadly speaking, the first quarter has been a sustained period of negative alpha for hedge fund managers, with equity long/short managers getting hurt the most. In January, BAAF fell generally in line with market performance (BAAF was down 4.33% versus the S&P 500 down 4.96%), which was largely driven by a broad sell off across sectors. Some of the diversifying managers protected capital well, but with markets significantly down, it was a challenging month for equity long/short managers to avoid being impacted. February presented other difficulties, as it contained both the trough and the rebound experienced over the quarter. Most significantly, managers were negatively impacted by the historic short squeeze that occurred as managers de risked their portfolios and covered their short positions. In fact, February was one of the most difficult periods for long/short alpha in the past 10 15 years, with both long and short positions underperforming. In March, BAAF managers were generally unable to capture as much of the market s upside as they have historically, for several reasons. First, the short squeeze that began in February extended into the first week of March, causing additional losses on the short side. Second, BAAF has exposure to long positions in sectors that underperformed the broader market, particularly healthcare. Finally, managers who cut risk in February to protect capital were unable to completely snapback when the markets recovered. A Historic Squeeze Let s take a closer look at what happened with the systematic hedge fund de risking event that began in January and extended through the first week of March. What largely kicked off the de risking was a backdrop in early Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. There can be no assurance the fund will achieve its investment objectives or avoid significant losses. Opinions expressed reflect the current opinions of BAAM as of the date of these materials only. Please see the end of this quarterly commentary for descriptions of the indices presented. Additional descriptions are available in the Glossary of Terms.
First Quarter 2016 FUND COMMENTARY FOR PURCHASE BY ACCREDITED INVESTORS ONLY January where there was a continued question about the magnitude and spillover effects of a slowdown in China, new geopolitical risks that threatened global stability, and continued fears about the significant decline in oil prices and what impact that could have on financial institutions and the real economy. These anxieties, on the back of the first hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve, resulted in a risk off event across the markets and more specifically for hedge funds. In fact, many investors wondered whether the Federal Reserve acted prematurely when it raised short term interest rate targets in December, particularly after a flurry of uninspiring economic data points were released that evidenced a material slowdown in domestic manufacturing and corporate profits. With this as a backdrop, hedge funds began to take down their risk profiles. When hedge funds de risk, they generally bring down exposure on both the long and short sides of their books. Normally a hedge fund s short book will soften the blow of market declines, capturing positive returns when long positions suffer. However, as managers began to cover their short positions in large scale by purchasing stocks, this had a cascading effect of driving up stock prices even further, which is sometimes referred to as a short squeeze. In the latter half of February and in March, when the market rebounded, a number of names that many hedge funds were holding as shorts experienced this phenomenon causing dramatic losses for those holding short positions. The short squeeze has been pervasive across long/short equity and has dramatically affected many hedge funds that focus on single name shorts, including long established multi manager platforms and other brand name firms. BAAF Sector Overview Digging into sector exposures and how that played into returns, the BAAF portfolio has been overweight several sectors that have recently underperformed the broader market. In particular, Healthcare and Financials are two sectors the Fund has significant exposure to, which were down 5.5% and 5.1% for Q1, respectively. Healthcare started selling off in the second half of 2015 and hasn t yet recovered, despite being a significant contributor to BAAF since the Fund s inception. Despite recent headwinds, we retain high conviction in the Fund s Healthcare names and believe they have embedded value. Furthermore, we think opportunities for alpha are in sectors where there are disruptive forces such as regulatory changes or technical advances that result in intra sector performance dispersion where there are winners and losers. Financials has also had a tough start to the year, with the sector underperforming as expectations of a quickly rising rate environment dwindled on lower global growth prospects. BAAM is reducing exposure to Financials based on our top down assessment of the attractiveness of the sector. Forward Positioning While we are disappointed by performance, we retain high conviction in the BAAF strategy and the Fund s ability to potentially provide investors with a less volatile way of investing in equity markets over a market cycle. We believe recent negative performance is very specific to the recent deleveraging events in the market, and that markets are being driven by technicals versus fundamentals. While the combination of an unstable macro environment and technical pressures creates a difficult environment for stock pickers, managers should be well positioned when markets normalize. Furthermore, we ve seen in our experience that periods of depressed alpha have at times set up periods of significant positive alpha generation, because the uncoupling of prices from fundamentals may create attractive entry points for managers who are prudent stewards of capital through the dislocation. This is especially true on the long side of the book. Alpha is inherently cyclical, and we continue to believe in the ability of hedge funds to generate levels of alpha consistent with our past experience over the longterm. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. There can be no assurance the fund will achieve its investment objectives or avoid significant losses. Opinions expressed reflect the current opinions of BAAM as of the date of these materials only. Please see the end of this quarterly commentary for descriptions of the indices presented. Additional descriptions are available in the Glossary of Terms.
First Quarter 2016 FUND COMMENTARY FOR PURCHASE BY ACCREDITED INVESTORS ONLY Today BAAF has approximately 1/3 of its assets allocated to diversifying strategies that are largely market uncorrelated, including macro thematic, multi strategy, and quantitative. All of these broad strategies were up for the quarter and fulfilled their intended function of providing diversification. On the margin, we continue to increase allocations to diversifying strategies and to managers with lower market directionality and beta, though we are not changing our investment philosophy or making any significant shifts in the portfolio. Finally, it may be worth reiterating the fundamental rationale for incorporating long/short strategies alongside or as a complement to an investor s traditional long only equity portfolio. Over time, the lower volatility and mitigation of deeper market declines may encourage more efficient compounding and superior wealth outcomes over market cycles. The below chart shows the risk versus return profile when adding the HFRI Equity Hedge Index in 5% increments to a traditional blend asset allocation i. 9.50 Annualized Return (%) 9.00 8.50 2 HFRI Equity Hedge, 4 S&P, 4 Barclays Agg 15% HFRI Equity Hedge, 45% S&P, 4 Barclays Agg 1 HFRI Equity Hedge, 5 S&P, 4 Barclays Agg 5% HFRI Equity Hedge, 55% S&P, 4 Barclays Agg Traditional Blend 8.00 7.00 7.50 8.00 8.50 9.00 9.50 Standard Deviation (%) i Traditional blend is herein represented by the weighted return of a portfolio consisting of a 6 allocation to the S&P 500 TR Index and a 4 allocation to the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. Time period represented is January 1990 March 2016. S&P 500 Total Return Index: A market capitalization weighted index that includes 500 stocks representing all major industries. Returns are denominated in USD and include dividends. The Index is a proxy of the performance of the broad US economy through changes in aggregate market value. This is not a managed portfolio and does not reflect fees or expenses. HFRI Equity Hedge: An unmanaged equal weighted index representing hedge funds tracked by Hedge Fund Research, Inc. that have an equity hedge strategy. Equity hedge strategies invest in both long and short positions in primarily equity and equity derivative securities. A wide variety of investment processes can be employed to arrive at an investment decision, including both quantitative and fundamental techniques; strategies can be broadly diversified or narrowly focused on specific sectors and can range broadly in terms of levels of net exposure, leverage employed, holding period, concentrations of market capitalizations and valuation ranges of typical portfolios. The Index is revised several times each month to reflect updated hedge fund return information. The Index is a proxy for the performance of the universe of funds of hedge funds focused on equity hedged strategies. There are no asset size or track record length minimum requirements for inclusion in the Index. The Index reflects actual fees and expenses charged by the hedge funds included in the Index. Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index: A broad based flagship benchmark that measures the investment grade, US dollar denominated, fixed rate taxable bond market. The index includes Treasuries, government related and corporate securities, MBS (agency fixed rate and hybrid ARM pass throughs), ABS and CMBS (agency and non agency). Provided the necessary inclusion rules are met, US Aggregate eligible securities also contribute to the multi currency Global Aggregate Index and the US Universal Index, which includes high yield and emerging markets debt. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. There can be no assurance the fund will achieve its investment objectives or avoid significant losses. Opinions expressed reflect the current opinions of BAAM as of the date of these materials only. Please see the end of this quarterly commentary for descriptions of the indices presented. Additional descriptions are available in the Glossary of Terms.
Blackstone Alternative Alpha Fund (BAAF) Blackstone For Purchase by Accredited Investors Only As of March 31st, 2016 Investment approach Fund net performance 1, 2, 3 Blackstone Alternative Alpha Fund ( BAAF or the Fund ) is a closed-end registered fund of hedge funds. The investment objective of BAAF is to seek to earn long term risk-adjusted returns that are attractive as compared to those of traditional public equity and fixed income markets. As an equity-focused fund, BAAF invests predominantly in hedge funds that employ equity-based investment strategies. BAAF also invests in hedge funds that employ diversifying strategies that have exhibited low correlation to equity markets as part of an effort to seek to reduce volatility. There can be no assurance that BAAF or any of the hedge funds in which BAAF invests will achieve their investment objectives or avoid significant losses. Fund highlights 4 As of 3/31/2016 As of 3/31/2016 MTD YTD 1 Year ITD St. Dev Beta Alpha Sharpe BAAF 0.92% (5.94%) (11.67%) 3.11% 5.74% - - 0.53 HFRI Equity Hedge 3.43% (1.66%) (4.49%) 3.3 6.27% 0.72 0.73% 0.52 S&P 500 TR 6.78% 1.35% 1.78% 12.35% 10.9 0.39 (1.61%) 1.13 MSCI World TR 6.86% (0.19%) (2.9) 8.67% 11.78% 0.35 0.04% 0.73 ITD reflects annualized performance of BAAF and the indices from the inception of BAAF on April 2, 2012 to the end of the time period shown. Performance data quoted represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment results will fluctuate so that an investor s shares, if repurchased in a tender offer, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be higher or lower than performance data quoted. Performance does not include a deduction of the maximum sales charge (up to 3.0), which would lower the performance shown. Information is estimated and unaudited for 2015 and 2016. Master Fund AUM (as of April 1, 2016) 5 Fund terms 4 $941 million Inception Date April 2, 2012 Investment Advisor Eligible Investors Tenders (Liquidity) 6 BAAM U.S. Accredited Investors Expected quarterly Allocations by strategy 5 Macro- Thematic, 7.72% Event, 18.77% Cash & Other, 0.63% Equities- Fundamental, 44.28% Portfolio managers Name Gideon Berger Greg Geiling Robert Jordan Years at Blackstone 14 Years 5 Years 5 Years Minimum Initial Investment $25,000 Subsequent Investment $5,000 Quantitative Strategies, 5.81% Multi-Strategy, 16.83% John McCormick Ian Morris 11 Years 6 Years Placement Fee (may be adjusted or waived by placement agent) Up to 3. Equities- Trading, 5.96% Alberto Santulin 13 Years Management Fee 7 1.25% Distribution & Service Fee 0.85% Equity Strategies 69.01% Diversifying Strategies 30.36% Stephen Sullens 15 Years Other Expenses 0.35% (capped) Tax Reporting Form 1099 All investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of BAAF carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about BAAF and is available on Blackstone s website at Blackstone.com/BAAF. All investors are urged to carefully read the prospectus in its entirety before investing. Please see glossary and disclosures at the end of this document for important information regarding terms, risks and limitations of BAAF. 1 Performance is net of all fees and expenses. For information regarding indices presented, please see Glossary of Terms Indices at the end of this document. 2 Beta and alpha statistics measure BAAF to each respective index. 3 90 day Treasury bill is used as the risk free rate. 4 Terms herein are not intended to be complete; for further information, please see the prospectus. 5 Portfolio allocations represent the assets of Blackstone Alternative Alpha Master Fund ( Master Fund ). BAAF invests substantially all of its assets in Blackstone Alternative Alpha Master Fund ( Master Fund ). AUM data is estimated and unaudited. Allocations are as of April 1, 2016. BAAM funds are actively managed and allocations are subject to ongoing revision. For information regarding categories presented, please see Glossary of Terms Indices at the end of this document. 6 BAAF expects, subject to the discretion of its Board of Trustees, to offer to repurchase between 5-25% of outstanding shares via quarterly tender offers. A repurchase fee of 2% applies to shares repurchased within the first 12 months of their issuance. Please see Fund Terms Tender Offer Details at the end of this document for a summary of notice requirements and payment terms. 7 BAAF will also bear the management and incentive fees charged by the underlying hedge funds. These fees are not subject to the cap on Other Expenses and may be substantial.
BAAF March 31, 2016 Gross strategy attribution 1 Equities-Fundamental Event Equities-Trading Diversifying Strategies Cash & Other Total Portfolio (Net) (3.41%) (1.95%) (0.01%) (0.41%) (0.03%) (5.94%) Top 10 Underlying Managers 2 0.8 0.14% 0.21% 0.41% 0.0 0.92% -8.0-6.0-4.0-2.0 0.0 2.0 MTD YTD April 1, 2016 Performance in worst S&P 500 months 3, 4 1.0 0.0 (1.0) (2.0) (3.0) (4.0) (5.0) (6.0) (7.0) (2.83%) (6.03%) (6.01%) (1.77%) (4.96%) (4.33%) (3.46%) 0.08% S&P500 TR (3.0) BAAF Net Aug-15 May-12 Jan-16 Jan-14 Jan-15 Average monthly return for months when S&P500 Total Return Index was positive/negative 3, 4 (0.35%) Manager Name Strategy Allocation Magnetar Financial LLC 5 Event/Multi-Strategy 11.39% Glenview Capital Management, LLC Equities-Fundamental 7.77% Southpoint Capital Advisors LP Equities-Fundamental 7.06% Corvex Management LP Event 6.86% Coatue Management, L.L.C. Equities-Fundamental 6.39% Renaissance Technologies LLC Quantitative Strategies 5.81% Bridger Management, LLC Equities-Fundamental 5.18% Hoplite Capital Management, LLC Equities-Fundamental 5.05% Wellington Management Company, LLP Equities-Fundamental 4.87% Samlyn Capital LLC Equities-Trading 4.71% Top 10 % AUM 65.09% Total Managers 21 Monthly net performance 3 4% -4% -4% 2.9% S&P 500 TR Index 1.1% Blackstone Alternative Alpha Fund Upside Capture Ratio Compared to the S&P 500: 37% 4% (2.41%) S&P 500 TR Index (1.22%) Blackstone Alternative Alpha Fund Downside Capture Ratio Compared to the S&P 500: 51% BAAF Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YTD 2012 (0.12%) (1.77%) (0.16%) 0.8 1.33% 0.78% (0.04%) 0.45% 1.32% 2.58% 2013 3.16% 0.1 2.31% 0.07% 1.99% (0.78%) 0.74% (1.11%) 1.4 1.71% 0.95% 2.05% 13.24% 2014 0.08% 2.46% (1.72%) (1.25%) 2.41% 1.52% (1.31%) 1.65% (0.3) 0.11% 2.27% 0.33% 6.29% 2015 (0.35%) 3.39% 0.58% (0.82%) 1.48% (1.28%) 1.24% (2.83%) (3.35%) 1.05% (0.05%) (1.57%) (2.68%) 2016 (4.33%) (2.58%) 0.92% (5.94%) Performance data quoted above represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Investment results will fluctuate so that an investor s shares, if repurchased in a tender offer, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be higher or lower than performance data quoted. Performance does not include a deduction of the maximum sales charge (up to 3.0), which would lower the performance shown. 1 Gross performance contribution is represented on a full-look through basis to the underlying manager level as of 3/31/2016. Results are net of underlying hedge fund manager fees, but gross of BAAM fees; when BAAM fees are applied returns will be lower. See total portfolio net performance above for results net of fees and expenses. For information regarding categories presented, please see Glossary of Terms Indices at the end of this document. 2 BAAF is an actively managed Fund and allocations are subject to ongoing revision. The portfolio allocation percentages are reflective of the underlying hedge funds held by BAAF, and not of securities held by the underlying funds. For information regarding categories presented, please see Glossary of Terms Indices at the end of this document. 3 Performance is net of all fees and expenses. Data is presented from April 2012 through March 2016. For information regarding indices presented, please see Glossary of Terms Indices at the end of this document. Performance for 2015 and 2016 is estimated and unaudited. 4 The S&P500 is not a managed portfolio and does not include fees or expenses. 5 Blackstone Strategic Capital Holdings L.P., an affiliate of BAAM and the Funds, owns a minority interest in Magnetar Capital Partners L.P., a control affiliate of Magnetar Financial LLC. Please see Conflicts of Interest at the end of this document.
Gross/Net Historical Exposure Asset Class Gross Historical Exposure BAAF March 31, 2016 30 10 25 20 Gross 8 Commodity 15 6 Credit 10 5 Net 4 2 Fixed Income & Currency Equity Asset Class Net Historical Exposure Geographic Exposure 6 45% 3 15% 6 5 4 3 2 1 Fixed Income & Currency Credit Commodity Equity (RHS) Sector Long Short Net North America 122. 71.4% 50.6% United Kingdom 3.7% 3.3% 0.4% Developed EMEA 15.1% 14.8% 0.3% Japan 2.5% 3.1% -0.6% Pacific Rim 1. 1.3% -0.3% Emerging Markets 10.3% 10.6% -0.3% China 0.7% 0.5% 0.2% Total 155.3% 105. 50.3% -15% Geographic Gross Historical Exposure Equity Exposure Sector Breakdown 10 8 6 4 2 China Pacific Rim Japan Emerging Markets Developed EMEA United Kingdom North America Sector Long Short Net Information Technology 14.2% 8.6% 5.6% Telecommunication Services 3.6% 0.8% 2.9% Consumer Discretionary 9.5% 6.7% 2.8% Consumer Staples 5.2% 2.7% 2.6% Energy 4.5% 2.9% 1.7% Utilities 0.9% 0.6% 0.3% Financials 15.8% 7.6% 8.2% Health Care 18.1% 6.8% 11.2% Industrials 6.7% 4.9% 1.7% Materials 3.5% 1.9% 1.6% Total 82. 43.5% 38.5% Please note: The exposure data presented above is based on information received from the underlying managers. BAAM takes reasonable steps to verify, but does not guarantee the accuracy of such information. Historical data of underlying managers are as reported by the given manager and may not be calculated in a uniform or consistent basis with information of other managers. Specific sector and geographic exposures may not sum to reported fund-level totals due to the inconsistent methods with which underlying managers report levels of exposure information.
Glossary of Terms BAAF March 31, 2016 Hedge Fund Strategies Equities-Fundamental: Managers that primarily invest in equities and equity derivatives based on in depth bottom-up analysis, which may be driven by the top down market view that fundamental managers tend to have higher net exposure than trading managers. Equities-Trading: Managers that primarily invest in equities and equity derivatives based on in depth bottom-up analysis, which may be driven by top down market views. Trading managers tend to have lower net exposure to broad market moves than Fundamental managers. Multi Strategy: Managers that invest across multiple strategies. Typical strategies found in a multi strategy manager include convertible arbitrage, long/short equities, credit fundamental hedged, fixed income arbitrage, quantitative equity strategies, and volatility arbitrage. Macro-Thematic: Discretionary, directional, and inter-country exposure to interest rates, FX, equities and commodities. Quantitative Strategies: This strategy combines technically driven statistical arbitrage with fundamental quantitative long/short strategies employing modeldriven research to identify investment opportunities. Event: Managers that invest, primarily through equities and to a lesser extent credit, in companies involved in special situations such as activism, corporate restructurings, news events, operational/management changes and other events that effect the valuation of a company. Investment Terms Beta: A measure of the volatility, or systematic risk, of a security or a portfolio in comparison to the market as a whole. Alpha: A measure of performance on a risk-adjusted basis. Alpha compares risk-adjusted performance to a benchmark index. The excess return of the fund relative to the return of the benchmark index is a fund s alpha. Gross Exposure: Reflects the aggregate of long and short investment positions in relation to the net asset value. For example, if the fund is 6 long and 5 short, then the fund is 11 gross invested. The gross exposure is one indication of the level of leverage in a portfolio. Long: A long position occurs when an individual (or fund) owns securities. Net Exposure: This is the difference between long and short investment positions in relation to the net asset value. For example if the fund is 6 long and 5 short, then the fund is 1 net invested. Sharpe Ratio: A ratio to measure risk-adjusted performance. The Sharpe ratio is calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate - such as that of the 90-Day U.S. Treasury Bill - from the rate of return for a portfolio and dividing the result by the standard deviation of the portfolio returns. The greater a portfolio's Sharpe ratio, the better its risk-adjusted performance has been. Short: Selling a security not actually owned at the time of sale. Short positions can generate returns directly when the price of a security declines. Volatility: A statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that particular security or a market index. In general, the higher the volatility, the riskier the security. Market indices are obtained through Bloomberg; HFRI indices are provided by Hedge Fund Research, Inc. Indices are unmanaged and investors cannot invest in an index. The volatility of the indices presented may be materially different from that of the performance of BAAF. In addition, the indices employ different investment guidelines and criteria than BAAF; as a result, the holdings in BAAF may differ significantly from the securities that comprise the indices. The performance of the indices has not been selected to represent an appropriate benchmark to compare to the performance of BAAF, but rather is disclosed to allow for comparison of BAAF s performance to that of well-known and widely recognized indices. A summary of the investment guidelines for the indices presented are available upon request. In the case of equity indices, performance of the indices reflects the reinvestment of dividends. S&P 500 Total Return Index: is a market capitalization-weighted index that includes 500 stocks representing all major industries. Returns are denominated in USD and include dividends. The Index is a proxy of the performance of the broad US economy through changes in aggregate market value. This is not a managed portfolio and does not reflect fees or expenses. HFRI Equity Hedge: is an unmanaged equal-weighted index representing hedge funds tracked by Hedge Fund Research, Inc. that have an equity hedge strategy. Equity hedge strategies invest in both long and short positions in primarily equity and equity derivative securities. A wide variety of investment processes can be employed to arrive at an investment decision, including both quantitative and fundamental techniques; strategies can be broadly diversified or narrowly focused on specific sectors and can range broadly in terms of levels of net exposure, leverage employed, holding period, concentrations of market capitalizations and valuation ranges of typical portfolios. The Index is revised several times each month to reflect updated hedge fund return information. The Index is a proxy for the performance of the universe of funds of hedge funds focused on equity hedged strategies. There are no asset-size or track record length minimum requirements for inclusion in the Index. The Index reflects actual fees and expenses charged by the hedge funds included in the Index. Note: While the HFRI Indices are frequently used, they have limitations (some of which are typical of other widely used indices). These limitations include survivorship bias (the returns of the indices may not be representative of all the hedge funds in the universe because of the tendency of lower performing funds to leave the index); heterogeneity (not all hedge funds are alike or comparable to one another, and the index may not accurately reflect the performance of a described style); and limited data (many hedge funds do not report to indices, and, therefore, the index may omit funds, the inclusion of which might significantly affect the performance shown. The HFRI Indices are based on information self-reported by hedge fund managers that decide on their own, at any time, whether or not they want to provide, or continue to provide, information to HFR Asset Management, L.L.C. Results for funds that go out of business are included in the index until the date that they cease operations. Therefore, these indices may not be complete or accurate representations of the hedge fund universe, and may be biased in several ways. Returns of the underlying hedge funds are net of fees and are denominated in USD. Source: Hedge Fund Research, Inc., HFR, Inc. June 15, 2011, www.hedgefundresearch.com. MSCI World Index: is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the equity market performance of developed markets. It consists of the following 24 developed market country indices: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Disclosure Information BAAF March 31, 2016 Additional Detail on Certain Fund Terms This summary of select Fund terms is qualified in its entirety by reference to BAAF s prospectus, which should be read in its entirety before considering an investment in BAAF. Fees and Expenses Other Expenses: include professional fees and other expenses, including, without limitation, administration fees, investor servicing fees, custody fees, trustee fees, insurance costs and financing costs (resulting from credit facilities used as bridge financing for portfolio management purposes, not to leverage investments). Subject to the terms of the prospectus, BAAM has agreed to waive its fees and/or reimburse expenses of BAAF so that specified expenses will not exceed 0.35% (annualized). BAAF has agreed to repay these amounts if and to the extent that the estimated annualized specified expenses for a given month are less than 0.35% within the three year period after BAAM bears the expense. Specified expenses is defined to include all expenses incurred by BAAF or the Master Fund with the exception of (i) the Management Fee; (ii) the Distribution and Service Fee; (iii) Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses; (iv) brokerage costs; (v) interest payments (including any interest expenses, commitment fees, or other expenses related to any line of credit of BAAF or Master Fund), (vi) taxes, and (vii) extraordinary expenses (as determined in the sole discretion of BAAM). Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses: represents fees and expenses of the hedge funds in which the Master Fund invested during its most recent fiscal year. This amount is based on the assets invested in each hedge fund during the period and the fees and expenses including incentive fees or allocations charged by each hedge fund during the period. The hedge funds in which the Master Fund invests generally charge between 1 and 3 of net profits as an incentive fee or allocation. The amount incurred by the Master Fund is subject to change because the performance of the hedge funds may fluctuate and the Master Fund may invest in different hedge funds from time to time. Distributions BAAF will distribute substantially all of its net investment income and taxable realized net capital gains on an annual basis. These distributions may be reinvested back into BAAF or paid to the investor. It should be noted that for taxable investors, most of the investor's return will be taxed as ordinary income subject to the highest marginal U.S. federal income tax rates. Thus, Fund dividends will not be eligible for any of the reduced U.S. federal income tax rates applicable to capital gains or "qualified dividends. Tender Offer Details No investor will have the right to require BAAF to redeem shares and repurchases of shares will be made at such times and on such terms as may be determined by the Board of Trustees. BAAM currently anticipates that it will recommend to the board that it offer to repurchase shares as follows: Frequency: quarterly Amount: between 5-25% of the outstanding shares of BAAF Notice: distributed approximately 95 days prior to quarter-end with responses due approximately 65 days prior to quarter-end Early Repurchase Fee: shares repurchased within the first 12 months of their issuance are subject to a 2% fee payable to BAAF Repayment: Partial Repurchases (up to 9 of a shareholder s shares): 10 of unaudited value of shares (less any repurchase fee) paid 30 days after the tender valuation date (or upon BAAF s receipt of redemption proceeds from the Master Fund, if later) Full Repurchases (9 or more of a shareholder s shares): (a) 9 of unaudited value of shares (less any repurchase fee) paid 30 days after the tender valuate date (or upon BAAF s receipt of redemption proceeds from the Master Fund, if later) and (b) remaining payment, if any, paid promptly after completion of BAAF s next annual audit.
Disclosure Information BAAF March 31, 2016 Risk of Investing in BAAF The following is not a complete summary or explanation of the various risks of an investment in BAAF. For a complete summary, please see the prospectus of BAAF. You can obtain a prospectus from your financial professional or from Blackstone s website. All investors are urged to carefully read the prospectus in its entirety before investing. An investment in BAAF is an appropriate investment only for accredited investors who can tolerate a high degree of risk and do not require a liquid investment. The Fund s investment program includes investments in hedge funds that may utilize such investment techniques as short sales, substantial leverage, securities lending, investments in non-marketable securities, use of derivatives and highly concentrated portfolios, among others, which could under certain circumstances magnify the impact of any negative market or investment developments. Certain additional principal risks of an investment in BAAF include: Allocation Risk BAAM s judgment about the attractiveness, value or market trends affecting a particular asset class, investment style, or hedge fund may be incorrect and this may have a negative impact upon performance. Equity Securities Risk stock markets are volatile. The value of equity securities purchased by BAAF could decline if the financial condition of the companies BAAF invests in decline or if overall market and economic conditions deteriorate. Event-Driven Trading Risk involves the risk that the specific event identified may not occur as anticipated and that this may have a negative impact upon the market price of the securities involved. Liquidity Risks shares of BAAF will not be traded on any securities exchange or other market and will be subject to substantial restrictions on transfer. Although BAAF may offer to repurchase shares from time to time, no assurance can be given that these offers or repurchases will occur. Shares will not be redeemable at a shareholder s option. As a result, a shareholder may not be able to sell or otherwise liquidate his or her shares. Macro-Thematic Risk the profitability of any macro program depends primarily on the ability of its manager to predict derivative contract price movements to implement its investment thesis regarding macroeconomic trends. Multi-Manager Risk hedge funds may make investment decisions that conflict with each other and as a result, BAAF could indirectly incur transaction costs without accomplishing any net investment result. Quantitative Strategies Risk involves the risk associated with the reliance on models and other technology that may not be successful on an ongoing basis or could contain errors, omissions, imperfections, or malfunctions. Additional Risk Investing in Hedge Funds Investment in hedge funds (directly or indirectly through BAAF) is speculative and not suitable for all investors. Hedge funds are high-risk alternative investments which are only available to qualified persons who are willing to bear the high economic risks associated with such an investment. Certain of these risks may include: - Loss of all or a substantial portion of the investment due to leveraging, short-selling, or other speculative practices of hedge funds; - Lack of liquidity in that there currently is no secondary market (and none is expected to develop) for interests in hedge funds; - Volatility of returns; - Restrictions on transferring shares of interests in hedge funds; - Limited information regarding valuations and pricing; - Complex tax structures and delays in tax reporting; and - Hedge funds are generally subject to less regulation and higher fees than mutual funds, which may offset profits, if any. Conflicts of Interest The Fund s prospectus describes conflicts of interest that may affect it and the Master Fund. One of these relates to Blackstone Strategic Capital Advisors L.L.C. ( BSCA ), an affiliate of BAAM. See Conflicts of Interest Financial Interests in Underlying Managers Blackstone Strategic Capital Advisors L.L.C. in BAAF s current prospectus. BSCA manages certain funds (the BSCA Funds ) that acquire equity interests in established alternative asset managers (the Strategic Capital Managers ). One of the Strategic Capital Managers in which the BSCA Funds have a minority interest is Magnetar Capital Partners L.P., a control affiliate of Magnetar Financial LLC, the investment manager of three funds in which the Master Fund has invested. Investments in the Magnetar funds benefit the BSCA Funds and BSCA and withdrawals from the Magnetar funds are detrimental to the BSCA Funds and BSCA. Accordingly, there may be a conflict between BAAM s fiduciary obligation to BAAF and the Master Fund, on the one hand, and BAAM s interest in the success of the BSCA Funds, on the other hand. BSCA will waive its share of the economic benefit attributable to the Master Fund s investment in the Magnetar funds. Any such amounts will be passed through or rebated to the Master Fund. The Master Fund will not otherwise participate in any of the economic arrangements between the BSCA Funds and any Strategic Capital Manager with which the Master Fund invests. Disclaimer Shares of BAAF are offered pursuant to the terms of its prospectus and (1) are not FDIC insured, (2) are not deposits or other obligations of a bank, (3) are not guaranteed by a bank, and (4) involve investment risks, including possible loss of principal. This sales literature is not an offer to sell BAAF s securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy BAAF s securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted. Prepared by Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P., a member of FINRA and an affiliate of BAAM, the investment manager of BAAF.