Geneva-based specialist asset manager Quaero Capital has hired Eric Daniel as Fund Manager. Supported by two dedicated analysts, he is in charge of managing the Global Convertible Bonds strategy whichlaunched in May. Prior to joining Quaero Capital, Daniel was a Partner with London-based alternative asset manager Tyndaris, where he co-managed a similar fund.
Daniel has 22 years of experience in convertible bonds at several leading global investment banks such as Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank. He launched the continental European branch of KBC Financial Products in 2000. He was also Head of Derivatives and Convertible Bond Sales at Citigroup in Paris, covering the bank’s largest global convertible bond accounts until December 2014. Eric Daniel began his career as an equity futures and derivatives trader at Bacot Allain Warburg from 1991 to 1994 and managed a CTA fund at Capital Fund Management in Paris until 1997. He is a graduate in Business Economics with a specialisation in Finance from the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce du Havre.
By combining a bond component – which provides downside protection – with an equity component, which allows investors to benefit from rising markets, convertible bonds are the only asset class that offers natural positive convexity. They therefore present an asymmetrical risk profile that is particularly interesting in the current environment.
Free from any sector or geographical constraints and with low correlation with the main asset classes, Quaero Capital’s Global Convertible Bonds strategy remains in a zone of positive convexity thanks to its active management of the portfolio’s various characteristics. As a result, the strategy can be integrated into the construction of a portfolio in order to increase the expected return while reducing the overall risk.
Jean Keller, CEO of Quaero Capital, says: “This new active and concentrated strategy is perfectly in line with our ‘investing away from the crowds’ investment philosophy. Eric Daniel’s original approach and his extensive experience in the field of convertibles provide us with a new skill set that is particularly interesting in this period of increased volatility. Indeed, the strategy has achieved excellent results since its launch in May.”
Daniel adds: “Thanks to its active management philosophy and its conviction-led managers, Quaero Capital has been able to build a solid franchise and I am very pleased to develop this new strategy in a stimulating environment imbued with a strong entrepreneurial culture.”
