Fidante has expanded its affiliate manager with a strategic partnership with global long-short manager System Capital.
The firm was founded in 2022 as an absolute return global equities manager by Lev Margolin, a former portfolio manager at L1 Capital, and is based in Melbourne.
Fidante has taken a substantial minority equity stake in System Capital, and entered into an exclusive distribution agreement which will allow System Capital to grow its funds under management (FUM) and for Fidante to expand its suite of investment choices.
The firm’s System Capital Long-Short Fund is well-suited to family offices, high-net-worth investors and retail clients, Fidante said, and focuses on identifying pricing inefficiencies between the valuation of a business and its business quality.
Its absolute return focus also means the fund can benefit from situations where a structural position of a business is weakening and that is not yet reflected in valuation, as well as adjust the fund’s market exposure (net long) to protect portfolio from market dislocations. The aim is to achieve consistent absolute returns and greater downside protection for investors.
Victor Rodriguez, chief executive for funds management at Challenger, said: “We believe Lev Margolin’s expertise in long-short investing, combined with the extensive experience of the System Capital team, presents a unique opportunity for Australian investors looking to take advantage of under and overvalued global stocks.
“At Fidante, we strongly believe in the value of active management and the distinct advantages specialist, independent managers offer in an increasingly competitive market. We are committed to ensuring investors have access to best in class, active fund managers, across a wide and diverse range of products and capabilities.”
Margolin added: “Our fund is not constructed with a specific investment thematic or qualitative overlay. Rather, we look to take advantage of structural winners and losers within specific industries to deliver absolute returns.
“We see our partnership with Fidante as a natural evolution of our business. It brings a new and differentiated investment strategy to the Fidante stable and allows us to grow our investor base.”
Fidante’s other affiliate managers include Alphinity Investment Management, WaveStone Capital, Eiger Capital and Merlon Capital Partners. The firm has $100 billion in funds under management.
Earlier this year, Money Management covered how new fund managers are increasingly looking to work with firms like Fidante, Pinnacle and Bennelong as a way to reduce their overheads.
