GAM launches multi-manager trading fund

GAM Trading V will be managed by Nancy Skiest Andrews of GAM’s Multi-Manager team. The team manages in excess of US$8 billion in fund of funds strategies, of which the trading strategies account for over US$3 billion.

GAM Trading V is an offshore multi-manager trading fund which, states GAM, provides investors with access to some of the world’s leading fund managers. It seeks to provide consistent absolute rates of return with low volatility and correlation to equity and bond markets.

GAM states that a key feature of its trading funds is their focus on generating returns independent of market direction, with the use of non-correlated strategies such as global macro, trend and non-trend following and relative value managers.

As a result, since the peak of the market in March 2000 to 31 March 2003, GAM Trading US$ has achieved a return of 54.3 per cent. This compares  with the CISDM Fund/Pool* index up 37.3 per cent and the MSCI World index which is down 45.6 per cent during that same time period. 

GAM Trading US$, has also produced an annualised return, since its launch on 27 April 1990 to 31 March 2003, of 14.8 per cent versus a return of 8.1 per cent for the CISDM Fund/Pool.

GAM stated that GAM Trading V "will invest in exceptional new investment talent that GAM has identified within the trading universe".

Commenting on the portfolio construction of the new fund, Nancy Skiest Andrews, Investment Manager, said:  "There will be limited overlap between the holdings of GAM Trading V and other GAM Trading funds. This reflects the significant number of new, very talented managers that we have identified. However, all but two of the managers with whom we intend to invest have been held in other GAM multi-manager portfolios during recent months. This has enabled us to monitor their performance and the blend of managers during the current volatile market environment. We are pleased with their progress and we are confident that they will continue to deliver superior investment returns for investors in GAM Trading V."

Initially, US dollar and euro-denominated share classes of GAM Trading V will be available. The fund has a minimum investment of 15,000 euros or US dollars.

GAM also announced that it is to cap GAM Trading IV. In the last 12 months, the fund has increased in size by more than 200 per cent. Assets under management now stand at over US$800 million.

Nancy Skiest Andrews  believes that the current portfolio construction, in terms of the number and combination of managers, is optimal. In addition, some of the key holdings in GAM Trading IV are closed to new investment. Therefore, increasing the fund size further or adding more managers would risk diluting the strength of these key holdings. GAM stated that its primary concern is to protect and maintain the fund’s exceptional performance history rather than to continue to grow its assets to the potential detriment of future performance in the fund.

Background Note: Founded in 1983, Global Asset Management (GAM) employs over 600 people in ten offices, including London, New York, Zurich, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Tokyo and Berlin. GAM is owned by UBS AG and operates as a distinct business unit within the UBS Global Asset Management business group.

GAM is an active manager of portfolios and funds for wealthy individuals, institutions and professional investors. It manages US$18.5 billion of clients’ assets. GAM’s fund range includes single manager and multi-manager funds investing in traditional asset classes and alternative investments.

An established market leader in the management of hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, GAM has used these in client portfolios to reduce volatility and to enhance performance for nearly 20 years.

GAM manages US$5 billion in discretionary portfolios on behalf of its private clients. Portfolios are tailored in accordance with individuals’ objectives, risk profiles, tax and regulatory requirements. Long term, absolute returns with an emphasis on capital preservation in difficult equity markets are at the heart of GAM’s investment strategy for its clients. GAM offers both relative and absolute return strategies.