RSS
|
Opalesque Industry Update: Morgan Stanley today announced the launch of a
new fund, the MS Discretionary Plus UCITS Fund, under its FundLogic Alternatives plc umbrella.
The fund, which provides exposure to the Mesirow Absolute Return Plus Strategy, is
the last in a series of four CTA strategies to be made available in a UCITS format through Morgan
Stanley’s partnership with Equinox Fund Management LLC, a U.S.-based multi-manager,
specializing in constructing portfolios of multiple Commodity Trading Advisor programs. This latest addition diversifies Morgan Stanley’s offering of CTA strategies, which currently comprises of a fully transparent and systematic strategy providing exposure to the broad class of managed futures, a short to medium-term pattern recognition program and a long-term trend following program. “We are proud to provide UCITS investors with access to the Mesirow Absolute Return Plus Strategy, established by Tom C. Willis, an acknowledged market leader in the industry with over 30 years trading experience”, said Alvise Munari, Managing Director and Global Head of Equity Derivatives, Sales and Financial Engineering at Morgan Stanley. He added: “Mesirow Financial, which has over $65bn of assets under management for all asset classes, has a deep expertise in commodity markets, which has allowed them to deliver innovative solutions for clients worldwide. The Strategy has a large emphasis on commodities, aiming to have a minimum of 75% commodities exposure. It identifies two to three macro themes that are played through futures contracts whilst limiting the amount at risk per trade. This allows consistent returns to be generated, with low volatility in various market environments, with the aim of generating returns in both rising and falling markets.” Michel Serieyssol, Managing Director at Equinox, commented: “We are delighted by the fourth successful UCITS launch with our partner, Morgan Stanley. Mesirow is a terrific addition to the FundLogic Alternatives Platform, providing investors with a strong diversification tool in Mesirow’s commodity-focused macro approach. Overall, we could not be any happier with the quality and breadth of the CTA offerings we have brought to the market with Morgan Stanley.” Aaron Ochstein of Mesirow commented: “Morgan Stanley is a market leader in the UCITS Alternatives space, with one of the fastest growing platforms, high-end risk management and operational expertise. We are delighted by this opportunity to partner with both Morgan Stanley and Equinox, in providing access to the Mesirow Absolute Return Plus Strategy to UCITS investors.” Tom Willis, Senior Strategist and Portfolio Manager of the Mesirow Absolute Plus Strategy said: “As Portfolio Manager, I am excited about the launch of the MS Discretionary Plus Fund, which we believe offers UCITS investors an opportunity to benefit from a strong macro-focused diversification approach. The strength of our Strategy is our seasoned investment team, our disciplined risk management process with an emphasis on capital preservation, combined with a targeted high percentage of profitable trades, on a high win/loss ratio. The Strategy seeks to avoid portfolio concentration on multiple levels, including price, concentration, time, and trade structure, ensuring a strong strategy all around.” Press Release BM
|
Industry Updates
Morgan Stanley to launch a new UCITS Fund that offers exposure to Mesirow Financial's Absolute Return Plus Strategy
Monday, February 25, 2013
|
|
