Prestige Funds, a specialist in the management and distribution of direct lending funds, has launched a new multi-manager investment fund that will specialise in allocating to both UK and international private debt and high yield credit managers.
‘Multi Finance Opportunities Fund’ was recently launched and is managed by Prestige Capital Management, a Malta based MFSA-regulated Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM). Prestige has over 10 years operating experience in Fund-based direct lending and fund of fund investing. Multi Finance Opportunities will target returns of 5 per cent – 7 per cent pa and will provide investors with access to absolute returns derived from a number of different lending and alternative credit based, investment strategies managed by specialists in the sector who can demonstrate strong track records.
Among the possible sector strategies Multi Finance Opportunities will be allocating to include Trade Finance, Invoice Finance, Real Estate Bridge Finance, Market Place Lending and High Yield Credit. Multi Finance Opportunities has the mandate to invest within alternative debt strategies across the globe. The current model investment portfolio consists of allocations to 6 core pillar strategies consisting of approximately 17 individual credit funds which, between them, currently have USD 4 billion in assets under management, 500 employees and 17,000 individual portfolio loan / positions.
Multi Finance Opportunities draws upon the considerable expertise that Prestige has accumulated in these sectors over the past decade, including the in-depth knowledge of its team of finance, banking and alternative investment professionals. A strategic and tactical asset allocation process is being employed to select appropriate managers and sectors for Multi Finance Opportunities. Underlying investments will be constantly monitored for performance, volatility and drifts in intrinsic risk and changes within management.
Craig Reeves (pictured), Founder of Prestige Funds, says: “Multi Finance Opportunities is designed to provide investors with a genuine alternative inflation hedge in an increasingly uncertain and volatile world. The universe of private debt managers has now reached a point of maturity that will enable an effective multi-manager approach to this sector, with a growing universe of specialists managing diverse strategies in different countries.
“We have recruited to Prestige over the years a team that brings additional and essential risk management oversight to the process of selecting and monitoring managers. Our understanding of this sector places us in an excellent position to select the opportunities in this market and to build a diversified investment portfolio of private debt funds.”
According to research carried out by PwC and Lendity, alternative lending has the potential to produce solid returns at a fraction of the volatility of other asset classes. Using the Orchard US Consumer Online Lending index as a proxy they illustrated that, between 2011 and 2017, alternative lending was able to achieve a superior annual return to 10-year US Treasury notes and investment grade corporate bonds.
In addition, according to the same research, the adjusted risk return of direct lending is superior to high yield bonds, both in terms of the magnitude of return dispersion/volatility and correlation with main asset classes.
Multi Finance Opportunities is an open-ended SICAV with both advisory and institutional share classes. It is available in USD, GBP, EUR, CHF and SEK share classes. There is a 1.5 per cent management fee and no performance fee.
