Matthias Knab
January 27, 2017
Founder of Opalesque

Swiss investors turn to alternatives to find the right balance between passive and active investing - Opalesque Geneva ...

Given the less attractive outlook on most traditional "pure beta" asset classes and investment styles, hedge funds and alternative investments are regaining interest from Swiss investors :  pensions, banks, independent asset managers and private clients. Risk  premia become increasingly tight, and with that the risk of a correction  increases. The need for diversification is high. 


Swiss pension plans have on average 5% invested in alternatives, well  below the regulatory soft limit of 15%. 1% is in private equity, about  2% is in hedge funds, and the remaining is deployed in other asset  classes categorized as alternatives according to the Swiss pension plan  regulation such as commodities, insurance-linked securities, senior  secured loans and private debt. The allocation to alternatives of  semi-institutional investors such as family offices is more sizable and  consists on average of 20% private equity and 8% hedge funds.


High performance hedge funds, structural changes and questions around PE


 In this Geneva Roundtable, we introduce you to a selection of  interesting managers. For example, Hilmi Ünver represents one of the  oldest funds of hedge funds called Haussmann. Launched in January 1974,  the fund has been around for 43 years now with a net compounding  performance of 13.8% since inception. Commodity newcomer Zafiro Capital,  founded by veteran manager Stephen Smethurst, is up 71% gross in 2016,  and Dr. Karl Sarkans' Geneva Global Macro Fund is up 90% net in 2016  after having made 30% in 2015 and 75% in 2014.


 The Roundtable also addresses structural changes within hedge funds.  While total industry AUM still seems to go up, we also see hedge fund  managers closing, which means in some cases less competition, leading to  greater dispersion and better opportunities for certain type of  managers. Meanwhile, investors and consultants say that it's actually private equity which is a big question mark (page 8), because valuations are probably even richer than in listed equities with so much money chasing limited opportunities.


Finding the right balance between passive and active investing


 Investors shouldn't underestimate some of the unintended consequences of  the unabated money flows into passive investments. Of course, there is a  cyclical aspect to that as well in the sense that you need to be  massively investing into passive investment when markets are efficient  and it's a cheap way to get beta. However, the more you invest into  passive investments, the more distorted the market becomes until at one  point large inefficiencies can be exploited by active managers (page  15). Hedge funds are the most active investors because they can go long  and short, and they should be the ones who can benefit the most from  large dislocations and inefficiencies.


 The Opalesque Geneva Roundtable, sponsored by Eurex, included the following experts:

  • Dominique Grandchamp, Head Investment Consulting Switzerland, AON
  • Hilmi Ünver, Head of ultra-high-net-worth and family office, Notz Stucki
  • Clément Leturgie, Business development & investor relations, Lombard Odier Asset Management
  • Dr. Karl Sarkans, Portfolio Manager & Director, Geneva Capital
  • Vincenzo Zinnà, Equity and Index Sales, Eurex
  • Stephen Smethurst, CEO, Zafiro Capital
  • Sherban Tautu, Head of Investment Advisory, Banque Syz & Co

The group also discussed: 

  1. Example of an alternative risk premia mix that is  working quite well and can deliver attractive returns over the medium  term (page 9) (page 10) 
  2. Which are the four main ways to improve bond yield? 
  3. What does a balanced account of a typical Swiss ultra high net worth client look like? (page 11) 
  4. Manager selection: How do Swiss allocators select funds? (page  13, 23) In demand: Cross assets specialists and managers with a clear  technological edge (page 16) 
  5. Do second or third generation managers spinning out of some  well-known established hedge funds mostly succeed or mostly fail? (page  13) 
  6. What is the potential problem with robo-advisers? (page 13-14) Are robo-advisers "smart"? Will disaster strike? (page 20) 
  7. Do quants distort fundamentals? (page 15) 
  8. How is an asset-liability study performed? (page 17) 
  9. Outlook for oil, Palladium and precious metals (page 21) 
  10. What is Eurex' ISA Direct offering? How can volatility futures hedge portfolios? (page 23) 
  11. Are equity valuations justified? (page 24) 
  12. How can fees be more aligned between managers and investors? (pages 24-26)

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