FRANCE - Paris-based asset manager TOBAM has launched an 'anti-benchmark' Pacific ex-Japan equity fund (UCITS IV) as part of its plan to develop its business further.

The newly launched anti-benchmark vehicle seeks to maximize diversification across the investment universe - as represented by the MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Index - by applying TOBAM's in-house maximum diversification approach, according to the French firm.

The fund aims to outperform the MSCI Pacific ex-Japan equity cap-weighted benchmark by 4-6% per annum over a market cycle, while at the same time delivering significantly less volatility, TOBAM said in a statement.
 
The firm went on to say that the vehicle applies a one-step optimisation to maximise diversification at the global level, bypassing the sector, country and style biases that more traditional allocation methods such as market-cap weighting could lead to.
 
Yves Choueifaty, president of TOBAM, said: "Foreign investors look to markets such as Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Hong Kong as a source of diversification.

"However, the market-cap weighted index in the region is strongly biased - with hefty concentrations in a small number of sectors.

"By applying the anti-benchmark method to this investment universe, TOBAM offers clients exposure that is both diversifying and diversified."

The launch of the anti-benchmark Pacific ex-Japan equity fund comes almost a year after TOBAM set up its anti-benchmark emerging market equity vehicle.

After Tobam entered into a strategic partnership with Amundi last month that saw Amundi take a 17.5% minority equity stake in its French counterpart, Choueifaty told IPE that his firm was now looking to grow its business in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.