•  
• Tweet
•  
•        Print
•  
•         Track Keywords
•  
• 

Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York:

Harcourt has been managing a portfolio of strategy-focused fund of funds of hedge funds ("3F") for fifteen years. The approach isn't widely discussed in alternative investment circles, but recently, portfolio manager Ilario Scasascia sat down with Opalesque TV to discuss how fund selection is critical for investors looking for alpha.

Harcourt Alternative Leaders Fund is a $1.6 billion fund within Vontobel Asset Management. Vontobel is a globally oriented Swiss private bank headquartered in Zurich, with approximately CHF 187 billion of client assets. The fund has been running a mandate for a large swiss pension since 2000, and recently opened to outside investors in 2015.

According to Scasascia, the 3F approach consistently outperforms a multi-strategy fund of hedge funds. He explains that on the quantitative side, a strategy-focused 3F can provide as much as 3 percent greater return than a multi-strat fund over the 1, 3, and 5-year time horizons because of the alpha generated by the strategy focus. From a more qualitative perspective, he adds that analysts cover fewer managers and have a deeper understanding of specific return drivers in the fund. "On the other side, multi-strategy firms have 10 or 15 analysts that have to cover the whole spectrum of hedge fund strategies," he says. "This means ......................

To view our full article Click here