The new fund will be co-managed by Kevin Franklin, lead portfolio manager for global strategies within scientific equities and Gearoid Neligan. They will be supported by a team of 80 researchers.
The absolute return fund is aiming for a low correlation with developed equity markets and promises to deliver alpha through a combination of long and short trades. A ‘systematic investing’ process will be used blending fundamentals insight and technology. Returns of 5%-7% a year after fees above USD 3M T-Bills are being targeted, with volatility of 7%.
A high degree of portfolio diversification will be put in place and the managers have a universe of 3000 developed market companies across 25 countries to work with.
“Globalisation has increased the extent to which macro forces influence company prospects and stock returns, while the digital age and advent of big data has given an exponential increase in the levels of information available,” said Richard Mathieson, head of strategy in EMEA for scientific active equity. “Our research-driven investment approach ensures that a strong emphasis on continual innovation is consistently built upon, we believe this is crucial for identifying the investment opportunities that exist in today’s global equity markets,” he added.
