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Pictet Asset Management has expanded its $11 billion actively managed total return franchise, launching a special situations Asia equity fund that looks to capture opportunities in the region’s stock market.  

The entity is called the Pictet Total Return-Lotus fund. The fund aims to capture medium- and short-term events that change fortunes of companies, as well as longer-term trends such as China’s economic restructuring, growth of Southeast Asia’s economy, and corporate governance reforms in Japan. 

The strategy invests in three areas: defined catalysts (equity capital market trades, thematic, special situations); pre-event (M&A, divestment/spin-off); and announced M&A. This diversification helps to provide stable, all-weather results in a region defined by dynamic but often dislocated  Pictet said. The strategy aims for consistent, uncorrelated returns with limited volatility throughout the cycle.  

“Asia is a great source of alpha due to its size, diversity and less-crowded opportunity set. Opportunity and risk often come hand-in-hand however, so we are adopting a well-diversified and cautious investment approach,” Jon Withaar, head of Asia special situations at the firm, said.  

Pictet TR-Lotus is managed by a team of three led by Withar. Based in Singapore, Withar has 20+ years’ experience in Asian financial markets. He is joined by Shawn Ban, analyst and Jeremy Thia, analyst.

Pictet TR-Lotus is offered as a weekly-dealing UCITS strategy. The fund is registered for sale in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.