Quilter has launched a new absolute return equity fund that will be managed by Janus Henderson.
It will focus on providing a positive absolute return, regardless of market conditions, over a 12-month period.
The fund is a long/short equity strategy that invests in large and mega cap companies, predominantly in the UK but also in Europe and the US.
Quilter said the new mandate, managed by Ben Wallace and Luke Newman, is based on the Janus Henderson Absolute Return Fund and will follow a similar ‘core’ and ‘tactical’ approach to portfolio construction, where the former focuses on companies with strong cashflows and fundamentals, while the latter looks for market anomalies.
Quilter uses a range of sub-advised mandates, along with third-party funds, across its multi-asset investment solutions, including WealthSelect. This approach offers the portfolio managers a broad range of high-quality strategies across different asset classes, sectors and geographies, the firm said.
In addition, Quilter has appointed Jupiter to manage the Quilter Investors UK Equity Growth Fund. It will be managed by Chris Smith, manager of Jupiter’s own UK Growth Fund which the sub-advised mandate will be based on.
Stuart Clark, portfolio manager of Quilter’s WealthSelect, said: “We have been looking for a fund that can nicely complement our existing alternative and absolute return exposure, and we have great confidence in the team at Janus Henderson. Many all-weather strategies have aimed to achieve an absolute return but have fallen short, yet this strategy is somewhat an outlier in terms of having been able to meet its objectives over a circa 20-year time period.
“The team is incredibly experienced, and our analysis shows that the style of the fund is genuinely different from most other long/short managers. We are excited to add this position to the portfolios to help us navigate clients through what is an uncertain market.”
Main image: luke-chesser-pJadQetzTkI-unsplash
