Man GLG, the discretionary investment management businessof Man Group, today announces the launch of Man GLG Innovation Equity Alternative, a new global long-short fund managed by Priya Kodeeswaran. Available in UCITS format, the fund focuses on opportunities in companies or sectors undergoing change or innovation.
The $450m Man GLG Innovation Equity Alternative fund seeks out companies within sectors that are particularly susceptible to change and innovation, primarily within the consumer discretionary, technology, telecoms and industrials sectors. Companies in these sectors can be fundamentally mispriced as market consensus can lag the actual or potential effects of disruption, while lower sector correlations allow the manager to build a diverse and risk optimised portfolio.
Priya Kodeeswaran has over 20 years’ experience investing in innovative companies. He originally developed this approach whilst he was a partner at Cheyne Capital between 2004 and 2009, and subsequently spent six years at RWC Partners managing a global long-short strategy focused on innovation. During this period, the RWC Global Innovation strategy significantly outperformed its reference index, the HFRX Equity Hedge Index. Prior to this, Kodeeswaran co-founded Avocet Capital and he has also held positions at Deutsche Asset Management and Europa Capital Management.
It is intended that the portfolio will be comprised of around 60-70 stocks, of which a significant majority will be liquid stocks with a large market capitalisation. The fund will have a global investment remit, with exposure principally to US, European and Asian markets. The strategy will be supported by Man GLG’s institutional framework and risk management infrastructure, and will benefit from the sharing of expertise across Man GLG’s collaborative investment teams.
Teun Johnston, CEO of Man GLG, said: “Priya has a strong track record of creating value from global innovative equities portfolios in an over 20 year career in the industry, and this strategy will offer a compelling proposition for Man GLG’s investors. This launch further demonstrates our strategy of hiring exceptional portfolio managers to broaden our strong client offering.”
Priya Kodeeswaran, Portfolio Manager of the Man GLG Innovation Equity Alternative Fund, said: “In an investment landscape characterised by rapid innovation and change, I believe this strategy can deliver attractive returns for investors. We seek to do this through identifying alpha opportunities created by the dislocations between a company’s share price and its prospects. I am delighted to be continuing my focus on this strategy, now within Man GLG, whose robust infrastructure and technology will be instrumental in supporting the strategy as it develops further.”