Man Group, the UK-headquartered alternative investment management business, and Asia-based Nomura have launched the new Nomura Man Systematic Fixed Income UCITS Fund. 

The new fund provides investors with an innovative approach to investing in fixed income markets in the current low interest rate environment. It aims to deliver strong annual returns and offers investors daily liquidity, the firm said.

The underlying strategy, Man Group said, is run by Man Systematic Strategies and seeks to capture largely directional opportunities in emerging and developed swap, futures and FX markets. It trades a balanced portfolio of 50 markets, based on around 300 systematic trading signals, and is managed by Andre Rzym and Stefan Sluke, who both previously worked on AHL’s managed futures funds. Andre has over 20 years of experience in fixed income markets, having headed fixed income at AHL, after working as a fixed income trader at JP Morgan.

“Traditional fixed income investing is clearly challenged in the current environment with interest rates being close to zero per cent. In contrast, the backdrop for alternative fixed income investing is favourable: the competition for pursuing alpha opportunities has diminished as banks have reduced their risk taking in fixed income markets considerably since 2008, creating the potential to generate strong returns. However, it has been difficult for investors to tap into these opportunities in a UCITS-compliant way with daily liquidity. We are therefore pleased to make such an offering available to investors," said Sandy Rattray, chief executive of AHL-MSS.

Man’s collaboration with Nomura builds on a long-established relationship between the two companies. MSS is responsible for running the underlying investment strategy, with Nomura providing access via a range of investment products that benefit from robust ongoing monitoring oversight, a statement said.

Man Group manages a range of alternative investment funds for individual or private clients and financial institutions. It currently has $60 billion under management.