SYZ Asset Management (SYZ AM) has expanded its offering of quantitative solutions through the launch of OYSTER Equity Premia Global.
This new offering builds on the strong success of the OYSTER Market Neutral Europe fund and will similarly seek to deliver alpha-rich returns while aiming to maintain a near zero equity beta over time. In order to support initial asset growth and reward early investors, a one-year discount of 50 per cent on the management fees will be offered.
While investing in equity premia is nothing new, the approach taken by SYZ AM to ‘harvest’ inefficiencies in equity markets by adopting a highly liquid, long/short approach while aiming to maintain a near-zero equity market beta is a key differentiator. The Quantitative Investment Solutions team have drawn on their years of investment and academic experience to create robust equity premia, which are the key building blocks of any risk premia strategy.
Guido Bolliger (pictured), Portfolio Manager and Co-Head of Quantitative Investment Solutions, says: “Our solution focuses on premia present in equity markets and seeks to offer the prospect of stable, alpha-rich returns disconnected from broader market behaviour.
Benoît Vaucher, Portfolio Manager, says: “The fund aims to offer an alternative source of returns in an environment of low-rates and stretched valuations”.
The three-member strong team, which includes Bolliger, Vaucher and Co-Head of Quantitative Investment Solutions, Claude Cornioley, achieved a net return of +5.24 per cent for the OYSTER Market Neutral Europe, placing it among the top quartile of its peer group.
By actively and dynamically allocating among a pre-defined universe of equity premia, the SYZ AM’s in-house developed strategy is designed to provide stable, alpha-rich returns over market cycles. With risk management at the core of the investment process, the fund’s systematic approach supports the strategy’s heavy reliance on data analysis that is used to aim to generate both performance and control risk.
In a world where finding stable, diversified sources of returns is challenging, the SYZ AM risk premia strategy can represent a very compelling proposition. The flexibility offered by equity premia can provide investors diversification, a lower correlation to broader equity markets and the potential to generate attractive alpha, all of which can serve an important role in a portfolio, in particular during periods when equity drawdowns are significant.
Katia Coudray, CEO of SYZ Asset Management, says: “The result of our investment in this new investment strategy, which represents an added expertise among our product range, has been quite satisfying.” She added, “Our dedicated quantitative investment team is delivering performance consistent with our DNA of alpha-generation – but in this case, through a long/short, beta-neutral approach rather than long-only.”
The OYSTER Equity Premia Global fund is registered in eight European countries: Luxembourg, United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Spain, Belgium, France, Austria, and will be later available in other European countries.
