Key Takeaways
- • iM Global Partner has launched the iMGP DBi Managed Futures UCITS fund in Europe, developed in partnership with Dynamic Beta Investments.
- • The fund has already attracted €60m in seed capital, which the firm describes as "keen interest" from investors.
- • The US version grew from $60m in 2021 to $1bn in assets under management by the end of 2022, which iMGP says makes it the largest managed futures ETF in the industry.
- • The strategy replicates a portfolio of managed futures hedge funds using liquid index futures rather than direct hedge fund investments, which iMGP says minimises single-manager risk.
- • The Luxembourg regulator CSSF has approved the fund, which was first announced in November 2022.
Summary
iM Global Partner has launched a managed futures UCITS fund for European investors, developed in partnership with Dynamic Beta Investments. The fund, the iMGP DBi Managed Futures fund, was first announced in November 2022 and has since received approval from Luxembourg's financial regulator, the CSSF. According to the firm, the fund has already drawn "keen interest" from investors, who have committed €60m in seed capital.
The strategy is a European version of a product launched three years earlier in the US market. Its objective is to replicate the performance of a portfolio of managed futures hedge funds. iMGP says this structure minimises single-manager risk. Rather than investing directly in hedge funds, the fund uses a dynamically adjusted portfolio of liquid futures contracts, primarily index futures, to approximate the factor weights of the underlying managed futures hedge funds.
iMGP reports that the US fund has grown rapidly, from $60m in assets under management in 2021 to $1bn at the end of 2022. The firm says this makes it the largest managed futures ETF in the industry by assets.
Andrew Beer, co-founder of Dynamic Beta Investments, argued that managed futures offer greater diversification benefits relative to stocks and bonds than private equity, private credit, real estate, commodities and many other common diversifiers. He noted that few wealth managers and institutional investors in Europe currently hold meaningful allocations to the strategy, and said the fund aims to change that.
The strategy is a European version of a product launched three years earlier in the US market. Its objective is to replicate the performance of a portfolio of managed futures hedge funds. iMGP says this structure minimises single-manager risk. Rather than investing directly in hedge funds, the fund uses a dynamically adjusted portfolio of liquid futures contracts, primarily index futures, to approximate the factor weights of the underlying managed futures hedge funds.
iMGP reports that the US fund has grown rapidly, from $60m in assets under management in 2021 to $1bn at the end of 2022. The firm says this makes it the largest managed futures ETF in the industry by assets.
Andrew Beer, co-founder of Dynamic Beta Investments, argued that managed futures offer greater diversification benefits relative to stocks and bonds than private equity, private credit, real estate, commodities and many other common diversifiers. He noted that few wealth managers and institutional investors in Europe currently hold meaningful allocations to the strategy, and said the fund aims to change that.
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