Pictet unveils Asia ex Japan Total Return fund

Pictet Asset Management has launched the PTR Banyan fund, an Asia ex Japan long/short strategy, to be managed by Nidhi Mahurkar.

According to Pictet, the Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS fund will use a variable bias in times of market stress, offering protection in weak economic conditions.

Anthony Cheung and Olivier Dolieres will act as assistant managers, and the team will follow a bottom-up investment approach.

The PTR Banyan strategy mirrors one that Mahurkar has run at Pictet since 2002, and which has been in existence for 15 years.

According to Pictet, emerging Asian markets remain under-penetrated, under-researched and often lack transparency. The freedom to apply hedging strategies allows the fund to be defensive in down markets and to profit from the characteristic volatility of the region.

"While the West is experiencing a multi-year deleveraging, the East promises strong economic growth and rising domestic consumption for years ahead. We aim to capture this growth and protect investors during the periodic sharp reversals that can occur in these markets," said Makhurkar.

The fund is the fourth addition to Pictet's Total Return fund range. The other offerings are the PTR-Corto (European long/short), PTR-Mandarin (China long/short) and PTR-Kosmos (global credit long/short) funds.