This new multi-manager fund seeks to achieve returns over a full cycle by allocating its net assets across ‘global macro oriented alternative strategies.’ These will selected by the investment management team, consisting of Brooks Ritchey (pictured) and Rob Christian, both senior managing directors at K2 Advisors, as well as Anthony Zanolla, senior vice president.
The fund has ‘a highly flexible mandate’ and focuses on capturing macro-economic opportunities through long and short positions across a wide range of asset classes globally, including equities, bonds, interest rates, currencies, and commodities indices.
The fund’s initial set of sub-advisors includes Aspect Capital Limited, Emso Asset Management Limited and Graham Capital Management. Both discretionary and systematic, or computer-based, funds will be incorporated.
The new offering is a sub-fund of the Luxembourg-registered Franklin Templeton Investment Funds (FTIF) SICAV range. It will be publicly launched in Luxembourg on 25th November 2016 and and then registered with the FCA in the UK. The fee on the ‘W share class’ is 205bps.
Ritchey said:“The Franklin K2 Global Macro Opportunities Fund is designed to help investors navigate their portfolios during periods of market volatility and investor uncertainty. Historically, global macro hedge strategies have shown diversification benefits in times of significant market stress.”
“Additionally, the multi-manager approach aims to provide an additional layer of diversification by offering exposure to different types of macro hedge strategies through a single portfolio, while offering daily liquidity and no performance fee” added Christian. “Further, we have chosen sub-advisors that cover systematic and discretionary strategies4, which have historically behaved differently to one another over specific market periods.”
