JP Morgan Asset Management’s (JPMAM) ‘liquid alternative’ product launched in January has reached $160 million (€142 million) including seed money.
The Ucits fund that invests in underlying hedge funds was seeded with €92.4 million.
Liquid alternatives are currently in vogue and Aberdeen Asset Management is among firms that have entered this space. Last year Aberdeen also launched hedge fund strategies within the Ucits framework.
Aberdeen seeded its Alternative Strategies Fund with $500 million in August 2015 and, as of July this year, managed $535 million.
Since inception the JPMAM fund has returned 2.68%, giving an excess return of 2.56% against the benchmark cash return of 0.12%.
The Aberdeen fund was down 3.25% at the end of July since its August 2015 inception, while its benchmarks – the Barcap Global Aggregate Bond Index and the MSCI World Total Return Index – had returned 9.75% and 5.41%, respectively.
A spokesperson for Aberdeen told Funds Europe: “The liquidity fuelled market environment [with quantitative easing supporting bond and equity prices] means liquid alt funds have generally not done so well against bond and equity indices.”
However, the Aberdeen representative added that the strategies will prove their value in the long term, particularly during periods of volatility.
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