SGAM Alternative Investments has announced that its New York-based affiliate, SG Asset Management Inc, will offer customised alternative investment portfolio advisory services to instituti
SGAM Alternative Investments has announced that its New York-based affiliate, SG Asset Management Inc, will offer customised alternative investment portfolio advisory services to institutional investors worldwide, complemented by information and services from investment research provider Morningstar.
These advisory services will allow clients to participate in and receive detailed information about the investment process with respect to their portfolio. Morningstar’s contribution will include hedge fund data, indices, research reports, performance ratings and operational ratings, as well as portfolio ratings and statistical analysis tools.
Morningstar currently tracks around 8,000 hedge funds and funds of hedge funds, making its database one of the largest in the industry. The initiative between SG Asset Management and Morningstar, the companies say, will provide investors with an unprecedented level of transparency and objectivity in alternative investing.
Timothy Parrott, managing director in the alternative investments team of SG Asset Management in New York will lead the initiative with John Rekenthaler, vice-president of research for Morningstar.
Arié Assayag, global head of hedge funds for SGAM AI, says: ‘The ability for an institutional client working with SGAM AI to obtain Morningstar’s independent perspective on a portfolio, relative to their investment objectives, should make investing in alternatives significantly more accessible than in the past. Our strategy, which focuses on the convergence of traditional and alternative investments, takes a significant step forward through our venture with Morningstar.’
Adds Rekenthaler: ‘In three years, we have built one of the largest hedge fund databases in the industry, containing a depth of information. The next step is to offer tools, benchmarks, ratings, and research that will allow qualified investors and their advisors to better compare and evaluate these once opaque investments. The Morningstar tools and content will allow SG Asset Management to offer its clients a high level of clarity and objectivity in alternative investing.’
SGAM Alternative Investments is a wholly owned subsidiary of Société Générale Asset Management with EUR53.3bn in assets under management at the end of March and 360 employees worldwide. The SGAM Group as a whole, including TCW and BAREP, manages a total of EUR66.6bn in alternative investments assets.
The SGAM AI hedge fund group manages EUR8.4bn of funds of hedge funds, multi-strategy and single strategy hedge funds, out of a total of EUR13.4bn for SGAM as a whole. Founded in 2000, the division has 120 employees at its headquarters in Paris and offices in New York, London, Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Morningstar offers an extensive range of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors and institutional clients, providing data on more than 230,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, separate accounts, hedge funds, and similar vehicles. The company has operations in 16 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in three other countries.
