Matrix has announced the launch of its second UCITS III fund. The Matrix Lazard Opportunities Fund, is managed by Matrix Money Management, who has appointed Lazard Asset Management as its Sub Investment Manager. The Lazard Asset Management team, headed by Sean Reynolds, aims to achieve absolute returns through a combination of capital appreciation and income.

The fund’s strategy seeks to generate returns through two sub-strategies: convertible arbitrage and special situations/event driven investing. The strategy aims to take advantage of situations where the team believes a security’s price diverges from its expected value and aims to provide superior risk-adjusted returns when compared to broad equity and credit benchmarks.

Reynolds, Senior Portfolio Manager, leads a six person investment team, with experience in event driven, relative value and convertibles strategies. The team also has access to Lazard’s Global Investment resources of over 180 professionals including analysts and portfolio managers who provide fundamental insight into special situations and events.

Commenting on the launch and the investment outlook, Reynolds said: "Matrix Group has developed a strong reputation for distributing absolute return focused products into the UK retail marketplace. The Matrix Lazard Opportunities Fund provides a unique vehicle for investors seeking an on-shore regulated fund that uses our convertible arbitrage and special situations, event-driven investment approach,” said Reynolds. “The investment team believes that the recent stock market sell-off has dramatically increased the strategy’s opportunity, especially in shorter dated credit securities offering attractive equity exposure. The team's expertise in this area should significantly differentiate us from the competition."