The Switzerland-based asset manager said the fund is designed to deliver returns uncorrelated with a long-only equity portfolio.

GAM has launched its first purely quantitative equities UCITS fund following the completion of its acquisition of Cantab Capital Partners last month.

Cantab is a UK-based multi-strategy systematic manager with assets under management of $4 billion. Since the acquisition, the firm’s investment team has been operating within GAM Systematic, an investment platform dedicated to systematic products across liquid alternatives and long-only traditional asset classes including equities, debt and multi asset.

The GAM Systematic Global Equity Market Neutral fund, developed by Cantab, invests in the 2,500 most liquid equities globally using quantitative trading models. Its strategies seek to identify persistent and recurring sources of return in equity markets. These are combined with innovative approaches to using big data and machine learning, GAM said. All strategies are tested using scientific methods before they are added into the portfolio. 

The goal is a highly liquid, diversified equities portfolio with low correlation to global equity markets. The fund, within a daily-dealing UCITS structure, aims to deliver attractive returns with annualised volatility of 6 per cent to 8 per cent.

“Our global equity market neutral product leverages many years of research and systems development. Its combination of diversification, performance, and excellent risk management framework makes it a very compelling equity product for our clients, especially in the current market environment,” said Anthony Lawler, co-head of GAM Systematic. 

Adam Glinsman, co-head of GAM Systematic, added: “The GAM Systematic Global Equity Market Neutral fund underscores our commitment to providing cost-effective and liquid sources of alpha and upholds the scientific curiosity and rigour that Cantab has prided itself on for the past decade.”