Allocation

Caroline Le Meaux Lambert, head of delegated asset management at Caisse des Dépôts for the French public pension fund Ircantec, tells us a little more about the Smart Beta concept.

Investment « styles » aim to capture risk premia and/or market anomalies that can be seen structurally over long periods. While no formal classification exists, a distinction is traditionally made between four major style families, not only applicable to equities but also to other asset classes...

The GAM Star Target Return Fund and GAM Star Target Return Plus Fund aim to deliver consistent returns of Libor +3% and +5% per annum, respectively, without significant equity, duration or credit risk.

Hedge funds’ returns weakened in sympathy with last week’s retreat in risky assets. Losses were mild in general, with few notable underperformers. By contrast, CTAs outperformed, recouping their earlier losses as yields and oil weakened. Funds keeping a low beta also performed well, the neutral and variable equity funds especially.

Roberto Cominotto, Investment Director for energy equities at GAM, is convinced that a sustainable turning point in the oil market is within reach, thanks to the decline in US production.