Natixis Global Asset Management has launched the ASG Dynamic Allocation Fund (DAAFX), a global asset allocation mutual fund managed by AlphaSimplex Group, LLC (AlphaSimplex).
The fund seeks to deliver long-term capital appreciation to investors looking for a tactical global asset allocation strategy.
“Building a durable investment portfolio has become even more challenging in a volatile market environment buffeted by global economic uncertainty,” says David Giunta (pictured), president and chief executive officer, at Natixis Global Asset Management, US Distribution. “To successfully diversify a portfolio of traditional stock and bond funds, investors need adaptive tools, such as the ASG Dynamic Allocation Fund, which incorporate a wide range of information available today to make investment decisions.”
The fund invests in a broad range of asset classes through the use of futures, forwards and exchange traded funds (ETFs). The strategy begins with a balanced allocation to high-risk and low-risk asset classes and adjusts those allocations according to insights AlphaSimplex derives from its quantitative analysis of market behaviors. It will invest in long positions in ETFs and derivatives (futures or forwards) in five asset classes: US stocks, ex-US developed market stocks, emerging markets stocks, US bonds, and ex-US developed market bonds. Allocation decisions will be informed by two key insights that AlphaSimplex has developed: hedge fund positioning and trend following.
The ASG Dynamic Allocation Fund seeks to quickly adapt to changes in market conditions and evolving manager insights. The fund may employ leverage through the use of futures contracts to dynamically increase exposure to asset classes, or the fund may reduce its allocation to any asset class to a minimum exposure of 0 per cent.
“The ASG Dynamic Allocation Fund seeks to balance risk with expected return by tactically allocating to multiple asset classes across a range of global markets using a disciplined quantitative approach that draws on AlphaSimplex’s current strategies and our experience managing liquid alternatives since 2003,” said Duncan B E Wilkinson, CFA, chief executive officer at AlphaSimplex. “We created the fund to help investors shift exposures among global assets in a fast-paced global market environment and help them stay invested over the long term.”
