FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS
PICTET LAUNCHES ENVIRONMENT FUND
Swiss private bank Pictet is capitalising on the latest move towards more socially responsible investing with the launch of its Pictet-Environmental Megatrend Selection, a UCITS-III compliant euro-denominated fund. The fund will invest in Pictet’s global sector and theme funds: Water, Clean Energy, Timber, and Agriculture and apply environmental, social and corporate governance criteria. While the underlying funds are individually managed, the new fund has a strategic allocation process with monthly rebalancing.
MERRION HIGH ALPHA TO RE-OPEN
Following three years of strong performance, Irish independent investment management firm Merrion has decided to market its global long short High Alpha Fund to a wider audience of international investors. The fund has delivered 103 per cent growth since launch and now manages around €50m of assets, which has been raised predominantly from domestic professional investors including pension funds, corporate funds and high net worth individuals. The fund is an Irish-regulated Qualifying Investor Fund and the underlying assets are held by Northern Trust.
UCITS FUNDS CONTINUE TO SEE OUTFLOWS
Long-term UCITS funds experienced net outflows of €0.2bn for the second month in a row in June, data from the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) showed yesterday. This was less severe than May’s €8bn of outflows thanks to a sharp decline in the net outflows from equity funds. However, UCITS funds recorded net outflows of €31bn in June, compared to net outflows of €23bn in May, fuelled by a rise in net withdrawals from money market funds, reflecting the normal trend of redemptions taking place at the end of each quarter.