The Pinebridge China A-Shares Quantitative Fund and the Pinebridge USD Investment Grade Credit Fund were registered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday.
The two Ireland-domiciled products are in recognition-pending process, according to MAS records. Once approved, they will be available to retail investors in Singapore.
The China A-Shares Quantitative Fund was launched in April, 2019. It aims to provide long-term capital growth by primarily investing in equities of companies listed on stock exchanges in the PRC or related to the economic development and growth of PRC, according to its factsheet.
“As one of the only UCITS products in the market to adopt a quantitative approach to Chinese equities, the fund aims to deliver alpha through the combination of local knowledge and a systematic investment process,” according to a statement from Pinebridge.
“The fund is managed by Pinebridge Investments Asia, with investment advice from Huatai-Pinebridge Fund Management, an onshore Shanghai-based joint venture between Pinebridge and Huatai Securities,” the statement added.
Established in 2004, Huatai-Pinebridge is owned by Huatai Securities (49%) and Pinebridge Investments (49%), with a minority stake by Suzhou New District High-Tech Industrial (2%). The joint venture managed asset of around $17bn as of the end of September 2019, according to the website.
Managed by Thomas Lo and Hanqing Tian, the fund allocates its asset mostly to the financial sector (22.6%) and information technology (15.1%), the factsheet noted.
Top holdings include Yealink Network Technology (a Xiamen-based communication equipment manufacturer), Kweichow Moutai and Shenzhen Goodix Technology (a semiconductor components manufacturer). The top ten account for 17.9% of the fund’s total assets.
The Pinebridge China A-Shares Quantitative Fund vs sector average and benchmark since inception
USD IG bond fund
As for the USD Investment Grade Credit Fund, it was incepted in October 2016 and is managed by Rob Vanden Assem, Dana Burns and Danny Zoba.
“The fund’s overall investment objective is to aim to maximise total return and provide capital preservation through investment in the US investment grade credit universe,” according to the factsheet.
The largest geographic exposure is the US (76%) and the highest sector allocation is financial institutions (29.5%), followed by government (10.5%) and consumer non-cyclical (9.2%), the factsheet shows.
FSA contacted the firm for more information but it was unable to reply in time for publication.
Asia footprint
The firm has 31-SFC authorised funds in Hong Kong and 23 products for sale in Singapore, FE Fundinfo data shows.
As of the end of 2019, the firm managed assets of $101.3bn globally, with offices in Asia including Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul and Tokyo, according to the firm’s website.
Assets sourced from Asia-based clients account for around 50% of the firm’s AUM, followed by Americas (28%) and Europe, Africa, and Middle East (16.6%), the website noted.
In February last year, the firm appointed Anthony Fasso as Asia-Pacific CEO, replacing Rajeev Mittal, who had been Pinebridge’s Asia-Pacific CEO for seven years.
JPM AM’s multi-manager hedge fund
Separately, JP Morgan Asset Management today announced the launch of the $100m Multi-Manager Sustainable Long/Short Fund, an alternative strategy designed to allocate capital to companies that lead their peer groups in sustainable performance, according to a statement from the firm.
In Asia, the hedge fund is only available to professional investors, a spokeswoman for the firm told FSA.
The strategy will emphasize sustainable alpha opportunities emerging from long-term global sustainability themes, such as energy transition, resource efficiency, empowerment, health & wellness, and technology for sustainability, the statement noted.
“Sustainable alpha can be generated where the impact of structural changes is underappreciated and incorrectly priced,” Jamie Kramer, global head of the alternatives solutions group and co-portfolio manager of the fund said in the statement.
“The long/short equity managers we work with have already embraced ESG as part of their risk management. They’re now focused on capturing sustainable alpha opportunities,” Kramer said.
The firm has another multi manager hedge fund, which it registered with the regulator in January. Focused on alternatives, the product is still awaiting approval for sale to retail investors in Singapore, MAS records show.
