EUROPE – Frank Russell has launched a new multi-manager hedge fund for investors outside the US to target growing European institutional interest in the asset class.

The Alternative Strategies Fund, the first fund to be launched by Frank Russell Alternative Investments, the group’s Dublin based open-ended investment company (OEIC) will incorporate 14 managers initially.
Its remit will be to invest in a number of hedge fund strategies, albeit primarily those with low correlation to traditional asset classes.

The manager says the fund has been designed to deliver returns of between 10-15% a year with low volatility.

Derek Doupe, associate director of Russell’s Alternative Investments division, comments: “ The dispersion of risk and return amongst hedge fund managers is huge, even amongst managers pursuing similar strategies. This makes manager selection even more critical than with traditional investments.”

Frédéric Jolly, managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa at the company, adds: “ We are confident that this new fund will be as well received as other Russell funds. It shares a common investment philosophy with our other fund: consistent performance coupled with low volatility and risk.”

Frank Russell manages over e70bn in assets, of which around e12bn is managed from Europe, and some e3bn of the total is in alternative investment funds.