Federated Investors has hired Michael T Dieschbourg to head the company's alternatives/managed-risk investment group.
Dieschbourg will serve as managing director and senior vice president and will report to Stephen F. Auth, chief investment officer for global equities.
"Michael's management experience and deep knowledge of managed-risk portfolios from both the perspective of an investment manager and a consultant make him an ideal leader for our recently formed alternatives/managed-risk investment group," says Auth. "At Federated, we have found that investment teams focused on solving specific client needs with dedicated research resources brings success. Our expectation is that Michael's new investment group will take Federated to the next level in this exciting, quickly evolving area of investment management."
Dieschbourg joins Federated with more than 25 years of experience in US and global investment management. He most recently served as senior managing director at Broadmark Asset Management, which specialises in dynamic hedge-fund strategies. He is the former chief executive officer and global head of environmental, social and corporate governance for Global Currents Investment Management. In addition, Dieschbourg spent 18 years in institutional consulting, including five as national director of Smith Barney Consulting Group.
The new alternatives/managed-risk group, which Dieschbourg will lead, combines two existing teams that have been developing new products in the managed-risk space.
"Over the long term, it is our goal to develop thoughtful outcomes-based portfolios that appeal to institutional investors seeking specific solutions to meet their investment goals. That investment goal might be, as it has been for the past couple of years, income or managing risk. In the future, the ability to outperform in a rising-rate environment or to garner additional growth from around the world may be equally as important," says John B Fisher, president and chief executive officer of Federated Advisory Companies. "The alternatives/managed-risk group offers four outcomes-based strategies today and we hope to expand the offerings to provide global portfolio options based on the best investment ideas being managed at Federated."
Under Dieschbourg's leadership, Federated's alternatives/managed-risk team, comprised of 13 investment professionals, will oversee the management of a series of managed-risk strategies. Federated has already developed and launched several products including the recently launched Federated Managed Risk Fund, which is designed to seek long-term total return by striving to maintain a diversified mix of investment exposure in various asset classes. It electively employs a risk-management overlay that seeks to provide lower equity risk during periods of relatively high market volatility and additional equity exposure during periods of relatively low market volatility.
