The firm claims the Dublin-registered vehicle will be the first to combine alpha and beta income streams in one offering, and is a reflection of the growing acceptance among investors of the benefits of FX as a primary portfolio component. Designed to reduce the asset allocation burden on investors looking to allocate funds across FX strategies and styles, Macro Currency Group says the fund offers investors an uncorrelated source of alpha, while smoothing volatility and maximising risk-adjusted returns.
Mark Farrington, portfolio manager and head of Macro Currency Group, says, in recent years, there has been a shift towards funds designed to capture certain segments or themes in the FX market.
“This has placed the burden on investors to make multiple-asset-allocation decisions, something that not all investors are confident doing,” he says. “The fund has been launched with the intention that clients are able to make a single allocation to enhance their portfolios, accessing diversification across multiple factors within one vehicle.”
Farrington says the fund will combine Macro Currency Group’s fundamental discretionary approach to generate alpha, with a transparent, systematic strategy to capture beta in the FX market.
The firm’s flagship Principal Global Opportunities Series Macro Currency Fund ended 2011 up 19.7%, and is up 7.8% on an annualized basis during the last three years.