Investment boutique VAM Funds is seeking Ucits authorisation for two funds in Luxembourg, to distribute them in the UK.
Nigel Watson, VAM’s sales director, says he hopes Luxembourg’s regulator will issue Ucits certification in a matter of weeks for the Driehaus fund, and VAM’s Multi-Asset Strategy fund.
VAM will then seek authorisation to distribute these in the UK.
Watson says: “What VAM is doing is bringing into the retail market investment expertise that would otherwise not be available to that market.”
Other firms attempting to market these type of funds include Insynergy Investment Management – which distributes funds run by Crispin Odey and GAM China fund manager Michael Lai – and also of GAM itself. It is aiming to create a vehicle run by former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Sushil Wadhwani this year.
The Driehaus fund is a fund of seven portfolios managed by growth-focused Chicago manager Driehaus Capital Management.
Investors who also invest in the underlying Driehaus portfolios, which VAM distributes separately, will not be double charged for decisions on asset allocation, made by founder Richard Driehaus.
Watson says the Driehaus funds have hedged sterling and euro share classes, given the appetite to invest in the US without FX risk. The hedges cost about 2% a year, Watson adds.
The VAM Multi-Asset Strategy fund run by Scotland’s Valu-Trac Investment Management allocates between developed and emerging markets equities, commodities, bonds and cash.
It uses ETFs to do so, making the portfolio liquid and able to reallocate quickly, Watson says.
Each fund has a minimum investment of $10,000.
