Key Takeaways
- • RWC Partners is rebranding its $67.8 million Global Innovation Absolute Alpha Fund to RWC Asia Absolute Alpha Fund and converting it to a UCITS structure, expanding its Asia equity offering following the departure of fund manager Priya Kodeeswaran.
- • Garret Mallal, portfolio manager of the Cayman-domiciled RWC Asia Opportunity Fund based in Singapore, will assume management of the new UCITS fund, bringing 10 years of Asia-Pacific investment experience.
- • The rebranded fund will replicate RWC's Asia long/short equity strategy originally launched in April 2015, utilizing dynamic long/short positioning and tactical currency hedging across the pan-Asia region.
- • RWC's emerging markets team, led by James Johnstone and John Malloy, manages over $1.6 billion in long-only and long/short emerging, frontier, and Asia equity funds, with the firm overseeing $11 billion in total assets as of January 29, 2016.
- • The Global Innovation Absolute Alpha Fund returned 4.9 percent year-to-date prior to rebranding, according to Morningstar data, as demand for UCITS-structured long/short equity strategies has resurged over the preceding two years.
Summary
RWC Partners, the London-based investment house, is expanding its Asian equity capabilities by converting its Global Innovation Absolute Alpha Fund into a UCITS vehicle focused on Asia long/short equity strategies. The $67.8 million fund will be renamed RWC Asia Absolute Alpha Fund, pending regulatory approval, and will replicate the Asia long/short equity strategy that RWC launched in April 2015. The conversion comes following the departure of the fund's previous manager, Priya Kodeeswaran.
Garret Mallal, who currently manages RWC's Cayman-domiciled Asia Opportunity Fund from Singapore, will lead the new UCITS fund. Mallal brings extensive regional expertise, having spent 10 years in investment management and research across the Asia-Pacific region. He joined RWC in 2015 as a portfolio manager within the emerging markets team led by James Johnstone and John Malloy. This team manages over $1.6 billion across long-only and long/short emerging, frontier, and Asia equity strategies.
According to RWC Partners CEO Dan Mannix, the firm is responding to a resurgence in investor demand for UCITS-structured long/short equity strategies over the preceding two years. "There remains a lack of high-quality Asia long/short funds and we feel Garret's portfolio management approach is stand-out, so offering it to investors in a UCITS gives the opportunity for a broader range of investors to access the fund," Mannix stated. The UCITS structure broadens accessibility to the strategy for European and regulated institutional investors.
The strategy employs a pan-Asia long/short approach that tactically utilizes currency positions for both hedging and return enhancement. The Global Innovation Absolute Alpha Fund generated a 4.9 percent year-to-date return as of the announcement, based on Morningstar data. RWC Partners, established in 2000, manages over $11 billion in assets as of January 29, 2016.
Garret Mallal, who currently manages RWC's Cayman-domiciled Asia Opportunity Fund from Singapore, will lead the new UCITS fund. Mallal brings extensive regional expertise, having spent 10 years in investment management and research across the Asia-Pacific region. He joined RWC in 2015 as a portfolio manager within the emerging markets team led by James Johnstone and John Malloy. This team manages over $1.6 billion across long-only and long/short emerging, frontier, and Asia equity strategies.
According to RWC Partners CEO Dan Mannix, the firm is responding to a resurgence in investor demand for UCITS-structured long/short equity strategies over the preceding two years. "There remains a lack of high-quality Asia long/short funds and we feel Garret's portfolio management approach is stand-out, so offering it to investors in a UCITS gives the opportunity for a broader range of investors to access the fund," Mannix stated. The UCITS structure broadens accessibility to the strategy for European and regulated institutional investors.
The strategy employs a pan-Asia long/short approach that tactically utilizes currency positions for both hedging and return enhancement. The Global Innovation Absolute Alpha Fund generated a 4.9 percent year-to-date return as of the announcement, based on Morningstar data. RWC Partners, established in 2000, manages over $11 billion in assets as of January 29, 2016.
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