Union Bancaire Privee, the Geneva- based wealth manager that reorganized after clients lost money with Bernard Madoff, agreed to buy Nexar Capital Group for an undisclosed sum.

Nexar, an alternative investment manager based in Paris and New York, had about $3 billion of assets under management at the end of last year, UBP said today in an e-mailed statement.

The purchase will bring UBP’s managed assets in the hedge funds area to 13 billion Swiss francs ($14.5 billion), Jerome Koechlin, a spokesman for the company, said by telephone. The deal should close by the end of April or May, subject to regulatory approval, he said.

“UBP strongly believes in the important role of funds of hedge funds,” the firm said in the statement. A fund of funds charges customers to pick hedge-fund investments.

UBP oversaw total assets of 72 billion francs at the end of December after acquiring ABN Amro Group NV’s Swiss wealth- management unit.

To contact the reporter on this story: Giles Broom in Geneva at gbroom@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Frank Connelly at fconnelly@bloomberg.net