Schroders has announced that it is planning to launch its fifth fund, Schroder GAIA CQS Credit, on its UCITS platform, Schroder GAIA (Global Alternative Investor Access). The fund is an unconstrained credit long / short product and will be managed by CQS, a $10.3bn global multi-strategy asset manager.

The fund will be managed by the same team that manages CQS Credit Long Short Fund, which was launched in April 2009. The team will be led by CQS’ Chief Investment Officer, Credit, Simon Finch, who has 17 years’ industry experience. The fund aims to provide capital growth and attractive risk-adjusted returns through investing across investment grade and high yield markets in Europe and the US.

Gavin Ralston, Global Head of Product at Schroders, commented: “Our latest Schroder GAIA partnership with CQS, which is regarded as one of Europe’s premier alternative asset management firms, significantly diversifies our UCITS offering. Credit long / short is an under represented UCITS strategy and there have been few industry leader launches in this space. We are therefore extremely pleased to be able to expand our capabilities here and be associated with a firm that has such a strong track record of performance in managing credit.”

Michael Hintze, Founder and CEO of CQS, also commented: “We are very pleased to be partnering with Schroder GAIA which has established itself as one of the leading UCITS distribution platforms in alternatives investments. We see significant opportunity in credit long short strategies and look forward to contributing to the diversification of Schroder GAIA’s offering. “

Eric Bertrand, Director of SNFC and of Schroder GAIA, added: “We are constantly doing our due diligence and looking for high quality hedge fund managers to join Schroder GAIA. We found that CQS is not only an experienced and proven credit manager over the long term but also brings a different and compelling strategy to the UCITS space. Schroder GAIA CQS Credit should give investors opportunity to diversify their approach to investing in credit, an important consideration given the challenging economic outlook.”