Pictet Asset Management (Pictet AM) has expanded its Total Return fund range with the launch of PTR-Agora, an equity market neutral fund with a long/short investment approach.
The fund managers aim to identify catalysts that will have an impact on the share prices of European large cap companies, including corporate restructurings and M&A activity.
The fund invests in approximately 35 core investment strategies, each expressed through a combination of long and short positions.
By combining long and short positions, the portfolio managers aim to remove market risk and extract alpha from identified catalysts.
The fund is managed by a three-member team led by Elif Aktuğ, who has over a decade of experience managing European equity long/short portfolios. The other two members are Benoît Capiod and Vincent Ijaouane.
The portfolio managers have been managing the same European long/short equity strategy at Pictet AM through a Cayman domiciled fund for over three years.
Launched on 4 July 2014, the fund is UCITS IV compliant, with weekly liquidity and daily transparency.
Aktuğ says: “In our view, a long/short equity fund is the best way for investors to capitalise on the multiple opportunities arising in the areas of restructuring and M&A. We believe the availability and cost of financing, the strength of European corporate balance sheets, the search for non-organic sources of growth and the growing stability of the economic environment, all point to a continued pick-up in M&A activity.”
The PTR-Agora fund is one of five strategies in Pictet AM’s Total Return fund range. Other funds is this range are: PTR-Corto Europe (Europe mid-small cap equity long/short), PTR-Mandarin (China equity long/short), PTR-Kosmos (global long/short credit) and PTR-Diversified Alpha (market neutral multi strategy).
