The latest in funds and investment news from across the world.

Union Bancaire Privée
Geneva-based Union Bancaire Privée has placed a new strategy onto its alternative UCITS platform – provided by Campbell & Company Investment Adviser.

The new arrival on the UBP platform is the U Access Campbell Absolute Return UCITS. It seeks to provide a balanced risk-reward profile across a broad range of market conditions through systematic investments in a diversified portfolio.

Other funds available on the platform include:

 -- U Access (IRL) Trend Macro, a discretionary global macro strategy that employs deep fundamental analysis research techniques to capitalise on trends in both developed and emerging markets via investment in a range of liquid markets and instruments (fixed income, currencies, credit, equity indices);

-- U Access (IRL) Cheyne Arbitrage UCITS, an equity arbitrage strategy combining a core yield (Merger Arbitrage) component and an opportunistic (Mixed Arbitrage) element, both being anti-correlated;  

-- U Access (IRL) GCA Credit Long/Short UCITS, an actively managed long/short corporate credit strategy employing a fundamental research process;

-- U Access (IRL) Shannon River UCITS a long/short equity strategy allocating capital opportunistically and dynamically across small- and mid-cap, “mispriced growth” stocks in technology-related sectors. This mainly includes areas where disruptive technological changes have occurred, such as intellectual property, software, media, entertainment, equipment, connectivity and logistics.

Ares Management
Ares Management Corporation, the US-listed alternative investment manager, has held the final closing of its Ares Special Opportunities Fund, alongside its parallel vehicles, clocking up $3.5 billion of commitments, beating its $2.0 billion target. Family offices were among the investors.

A total of 70 limited partners in Asia, North America, the Middle East and Europe put money into the fund. They included sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, endowments, family offices and private banks. About half of the ASOF investors had previously invested in another Ares fund. Some 80 per cent of this group invested in the latest portfolio.

“We believe the significant distressed investing expertise, industry coverage and company sponsorship capabilities within our Private Equity Group combined with the global market leadership in Direct Lending and Liquid Credit from our Credit Group puts us at a significant advantage in investing across private and public situations,” Scott Graves, partner, co-head of Ares Private Equity Group and head of special opportunities, said.

Ares Management’s global platform had $149 billion in assets under management as of 31 March.

Natixis Investment Managers
Natixis Investment Managers has entererd the market with its first ESG aligned Lux UCITS range. The fund consists of the Natixis ESG Conservative, Moderate and Dynamic funds offering exposure to 14 funds from five of the group’s affiliated managers.

The funds will be managed by the multi-asset portfolio team that currently manages €57 billion of which €5.4 billion is already focused on ESG-specific mandates, the firm said. The funds will be led by Nicolas Bozetto and are currently available in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Spain, with further registrations expected in July.

Natixis head of multi-asset portfolio James Beaumont said the funds will give clients access to “a wide range of ESG strategies across all asset classes in a risk-controlled manner."