Tobam, an “anti-benchmark” fund manager based in Paris, has added two members to its fixed income team and is increasing its product range, which includes smart beta bonds.
Founded in 2005 and with Amundi and a major US pension fund as minority shareholders, the firm said the hires came after a US credit strategy launched in 2014 raised over $300 million (€278 million) of assets in less than a year.
Tobam, which has $8 billion of assets under management, said demand for its “anti-benchmark” approach was growing and that a new strategy announced this week focusing on global high yield had already secured $100 million of capital from a large public pension fund.
Tobam sees concentration risk as a significant factor in high yield indices, meaning there is a need for a benchmark-agnostic approach to the asset class.
Raphaël Thuin, head of fixed income, said: “The market’s staggering concentration toward commodity names, currently exceeding 20% in market value, is putting the entire asset class at risk. The sector had a stellar 2016, and could be subject to wild swings going forward.”
Calpers, the California pension fund for public sector workers, is the minority shareholder in Tobam.
Tobam would not give details about the two new fixed income members.
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