The boutique asset manager has launched a strategy that it says distils the sources of hedge fund returns "in a more cost-effective way".

Unigestion has launched Uni-Global – Alternative Risk Premia, a fund designed to provide cost-effective and liquid sources of returns in a UCITS structure.

The strategy seeks to limit volatility to 8 per cent, and aims for cash returns of 7 per cent per annum (gross of fees) over a three- to five-year investment horizon.

The fund will be run by a team of alternative investment experts from Unigestion’s equity and cross-asset solutions teams.

“While there is undoubtedly still a place for talented hedge fund managers that deliver true alpha, this type of strategy is attractive to any investor looking for alternative sources of return that are thoroughly risk managed, liquid and cost-effective,” said Jérôme Teiletche, head of cross-asset solutions.

The strategy addresses three concerns, Unigestion added: bond yields remaining at historically low levels while equity valuations are stretched; macroeconomic and political risks triggering a potential surge in volatility; and the typical cost structure imposed by hedge funds being, in general, not commensurable with the returns they are delivering.