The company said the BlackRock Multi-Strategy Absolute Return Fund will use alpha seeking strategies across equities, fixed income and global macro categories to target positive returns in a range of market conditions.
The Luxembourg-domiciled fund will be managed by Kevin Chuah as part of BlackRock’s multi-asset strategies team and joins an existing range of liquid alternative UCITS funds.
The basis for the fund’s investment will be alternative, ‘onshore’ sources of investment return which “maximise returns and minimum capital charges” in the wake of new European financial regulations such as the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and Solvency II.
The $60m fund will have a minimum initial investment of $1m (€0.7m, £0.6m) for the institutional share class and $5,000 for the retail share class, as well as a minimum additional investment of $10,000 for institutional and $1,000 for retail. It will also have a management fee of 0.75% for the institutional share class and 1.25% for the retail share class.
Head of alternative investment strategies in Europe, Ingo Heinen, said: “There is a trend towards institutions seeking alternative investments via regulated ‘onshore’ vehicles.
“Many clients want diversified exposure to funds that add alpha and provide a different set of returns to equities and bonds, and this liquid multi-strategy fund will give them access to a range of alternative investment strategies in a cost-efficient and dynamic way.”
Earlier this month, BlackRock launched its Luxembourg-domiciled Asian Growth Leaders Fund to retail investors in Hong Kong.
The fund aims to capture growth opportunities in Asia with an emphasis on mid-cap companies and companies poised to grow in a cyclical upturn.
The vehicle invests at least 70% of its total assets in the shares of companies domiciled in, or having a predominant part of their activity in, Asia, excluding Japan.
Click here to see a factsheet about the fund.
Graph showing three year performance of Blackrock Asian Growth Leaders Fund
