Hedge Fund Awards 2014

Being a subsidiary of the ABN AMRO Group-owned Bank Neuflize OBC gives Neuflize OBC Investissements, which manages € 33 billion in assets, a number of advantages. For instance, Neuflize OBC Investissements is able to rely on AAA (ABN Amro Advisors), a department that specializes in mul- timanager selection; this helps Neuflize OBC Investissements with ‘portable alpha’, one of its main strategies in the Neuflize Asymétrique Fund. Laurent explains: “Portable alpha involves investing in ex- ternal equity managers and then hedging the position with futures. An example would be buying a eurozone equity fund and selling simultaneously eurostoxx50 futures. AAA’s large structure and its ability to have full access to the best man- agers everywhere in the world are of enormous benefit to Neuflize OBC Investissements.” Neuflize OBC Investissements relies on two main strategies, completed by a systematic hedging: • A ‘portable alpha’ portfolio: long multimanager funds / short futures • A total return portfolio: selection of absolute return strat- egies, convertibles and high yield funds. It then adds a systematic hedging with derivatives, mainly listed options on equity indexes. In an industry that has become much more regulated and controlled since 2008, the strategy has been a success. Benjamin says: “In 2013, the ‘portable alpha’ strategy has generated 65% of performance while the total return port- folio (absolute return and yield strategies) has brought 35% of performance. Our main themes have been Japan, new frontier markets and European equities.” “One example of the change new regulation has brought about is the big development of UCITS funds which are now very similar to hedge funds. Numerous hedge funds have become UCITS funds without changing their investment pro- cess. This is why Neuflize Asymétrique has a UCITS version today!” In the industry as a whole, Laurent and Benjamin have no- ticed the decline of long short market neutral funds, the con- www.acquisition-intl.com 2014 International Hedge Fund Awards Neuflize Asymétrique tinuing development of electronic trading and algorithms by CTAs. A lot of funds must increasingly rely on a specific com- petitive edge, such as a large team of analysts or algorithm developers. For Neuflize OBC Investissements, the competi- tive edge is ABN Amro Advisors, which is here to stay as one of the most important team in multi-management. For 2014, the duo say prediction is difficult but a sharp de- crease in yield portfolios and credit, and a raise in volatility are both likely. Nevertheless, they hope that equity markets could stay constructive, albeit at a moderate pace. Talking about the award, Laurent says: “It is a good recogni- tion of our team work, especially after a chaotic period for investors since 2008. We’d like to thank you for the prize and we hope to see you again in 2015!” Fact File Company: Neuflize OBC Investissements Name: Laurent Bouin and Benjamin Hamidi Email: [email protected] [email protected] Web Address: neuflizeobcinvestissements.fr Address: 3 avenue Hoche 75 008 Paris, France Telephone: +33 1 56 21 87 57 / +33 1 56 21 87 33 “It is a good recogni- tion of our team work, especially after a cha- otic period for investors since 2008. We’d like to thank you for the prize and we hope to see you again in 2015.” Laurent Bouin has more than 20 years’ experience in managing absolute return funds; he has been a fund manager since 2007 at Neuflize OBC Investissements and is now Head of Asymmetric products. Benjamin Hamidi (PhD) is the co-fund manager of Neuflize Asymétrique and has more than nine years’ experience in finance and asset management. Together, they explain more about Neuflize OBC Investissements. Top Absolute Return Fund of the Year 30