Boutique asset manager Unigestion intends to launch an investment strategy based on systematic factors such as value, momentum, quality and size.
The firm, which manages £10.7 billion (€13.8 billion) in assets for institutional and high net worth investors, aims to build a factor portfolio with lower risk, lower volatility and lower drawdowns.
Factor investing, where securities are chosen based on specific attributes and the way they react to changes in the market, is often grouped under the label ‘smart beta’, an approach focused on alternative benchmark weighting schemes that has recently attracted a higher profile.
Bruno Taillardat, investment director and portfolio manager for equities at Unigestion, say Unigestion’s factor investing strategy will be a way to provide clients with access to a pure equity strategy, without exposing them to the levels of volatility typically expected from the asset class.
“People talk a lot about factor investing,” he told Funds Europe in March’s global equities feature: ‘Transatlantic crossing’. “We believe that we can provide a good risk management process and a very niche factor portfolio.”
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