AXA Australiahas become the latest fund manager to propel itself into the ever burgeoning multi-manager hedge fund scene with the launch of a global fund-of-hedge fund targeted at master trusts and high net worth individuals.
The Wholesale Global Diversified Hedge Fund, which will be available to advisers through AXA’s flagship master trust, Summit, from this week, will invest in between 20 and 50 managers at any one time.
AXA Global Structured Products (AXA GSP), a specialist multi-manager hedge fund division of AXA Investment Managers, will select and monitor the managers from its New York based office.
AXA GSP managing director Barry Seeman, in Australia to launch the new fund, says it will increase the diversification of a portfolio made up of traditional managed funds.
“Hedge Funds have the flexibility and agility to produce returns in both bull and bear markets – making them a great diversification in any investment portfolio,” Seeman says.
The fund, with a minimum entry fee for individual investors of $50,000, will invest across managers spanning the full spectrum of global hedge fund strategies.
AXA Australia, which has kicked in $20 million to start off the fund, is expecting $50 million to be invested in the fund over the next twelve months on the back of projections for consistently strong long term returns.
“The fund aims to generate consistent returns in the medium to long term with low correlation to equity and fixed interest markets,” Seeman says.
AXA, which now joins groups likeRothschild, Absolute Capital,ColonialandDeutsche Asset Managementto have launched fund-of-hedge-funds this year, is also currently in negotiations with a number of other providers to have the fund included on their master trust and wrap menus.
Meanwhile in other AXA news, the group has also launched a new global equity value fund for both retail and wholesale investors. The Global Equity – Value Fund will be managed by AXA joint venture partner Alliance Capital’s dedicated value arm, Alliance Bernstein.
