Legg Mason’s affiliate Permal Group has launched the Permal Alternative Select Fund, its first open end alternative mutual fund.
The multi-strategy fund is sub-advised by a selection of hedge fund managers.
The fund, which offers investors daily liquidity, has a minimum investment of USD1,000.
By means of a tactical asset allocation programme, the fund is seeking to produce positive returns across a full market cycle, allocating assets to strategies that historically have had a low correlation to each other. These strategies may include equity hedge, event driven, global macro and relative value.
The initial investment strategies and sub-advisers are:
• Equity hedge: Apex Capital
• Event-driven: River Canyon Fund Management, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Canyon Capital Advisors
• Global macro (discretionary): TT International
• Global macro (systematic): BH-DG Systematic Trading, part of a joint venture arrangement between David Gorton and Brevan Howard
"Clients today are far more interested in accessing a range of liquidity solutions covering the spectrum from daily to quarterly and beyond. Through Permal Alternative Select Fund, we are offering an alternative daily liquid multi-manager fund with a select group of leading managers and a core focus on diversification by manager and strategy," says Maxwell Osborne, head of US distribution for Permal.
Tom Hoops, head of business development for Legg Mason, who oversees M&A activity and new product development, says: "As investor needs evolve, Legg Mason has the resources to tap into the expertise of its investment affiliates and bring to market new products through our global distribution channels. For over 40 years Permal has been a leader in the alternative investment space and is the ideal partner to launch a liquid alternative product. This is also a great example of industry convergence, where the offshore world meets the onshore market. Retail investors today are looking beyond the more traditional products and with Permal Alternative Select Fund we have a daily liquid product that offers diversification across a range of hedge fund strategies and managers."
The fund, which is registered with the SEC under both the Securities Act of 1933 and Investment Company Act of 1940, is managed by Permal Asset Management, a member of Permal Group. It has been structured to provide investors with 1099 tax reporting and is available to US retail and institutional investors.
