--ABR Partners with Zurich-based OpenFunds Investment Services AG for distribution in Switzerland, Greater Europe and the Middle East--
NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Building upon its indexing and liquid alternative asset management business in the United States, New York-based ABR Dynamic Funds, LLC has launched its first Irish-domiciled UCITS V fund. The fund, which seeks U.S. equities participation in a bull market and significant, positive absolute returns in a crisis, is being distributed by OpenFunds, which is also acting as Swiss legal representative for the fund. The fully-systematic fund will seek returns similar to ABR's first index, the ABR Dynamic Blend Equity and Volatility Index (ABRVXX).
ABR's founder and CEO, Taylor Lukof, plans to grow Assets Under Management (AUM) in an expanding segment of the European markets in the UCITS fund wrapper.
"We see tremendous growth in index-tracking UCITS in Europe. What was less than 2% of AUM in European UCITS in 2013 became over 10% by 2015. European assets in UCITS continue to shift from traditional actively-managed funds to passively-managed funds, and ABR is pleased to be a part of this changing dynamic."
ABR's index is the first under the "Powered by Wilshire" custom index suite, launched by Wilshire Associates in 2015. Wilshire, which provides services to clients with assets totaling over $7 trillion, independently calculates and publishes the index values for ABR.
Lukof's plans do not stop with this launch. "We have a wonderful relationship with our independent index calculation agent, Wilshire Associates. We just launched our 5th Powered by Wilshire index last week, and we plan to roll-out a family of liquid alternative UCITS funds to track these indexes over the next few years. Investor appetite for the tightly-regulated, highly-liquid UCITS V structure increases every day. With stocks and bonds perhaps nearing the end of an historic cycle, we believe we are well-positioned for the future."
OpenFunds' CEO, Siro Zanovello, thinks that the simple structure of a UCITS V fund could be key for clients looking for a liquid alternative fund that performs well in a crisis. "Most of the products we distribute at OpenFunds are a little bit different than what an investor would typically see. We are a pioneer in what today people call private debt, but given the limited allocation to this space, we were always on the look-out for truly scalable liquid alternative solutions. With ABR's suite of funds, we believe we are providing what clients have been asking for the last few years."
Zanovello credits his team's rich history of marketing "first-time" products for the successful launch of ABR's fund. "We have a track record in helping first-time funds raise considerable assets. Our goal with ABR is to have the first billion-dollar fund in the category of liquid alternative that OpenFunds represents. We are excited for the UCITS fund family that ABR plans to offer to our clients in the future."
About ABR Dynamic Funds
ABR Management LLC, the parent company of ABR Dynamic Funds, was founded in 2010 by Taylor Lukof as a research-focused trading group managing internal proprietary capital. In March 2015, ABR Dynamic Funds, LLC was formed, as a subsidiary of ABR Management, to license intellectual property from the parent company in order to create indices and liquid alternative solutions for clients. Today, ABR Dynamic Funds is an innovative, global investment management and R&D firm with a focus on liquid alternative index creation and product development. The firm develops systematic strategies across all asset classes for the creation of proprietary indexes with its partners. These indexes are licensed by ABR to deliver investable solutions to clients. Please visit http://abrfunds.com/home/ for more information.
About OpenFunds AG
OpenFunds Investment Services Limited ('OpenFunds') is an independent company established under Swiss law, licensed and supervised by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority ('FINMA') as legal representative and as distributor of foreign collective investment schemes for qualified investors. OpenFunds also supports Fund promoters of foreign collective investment schemes to become in line and operate within the Swiss regulatory framework regarding the distribution of foreign collective investment schemes to qualified investors only in Switzerland or from Switzerland. OpenFunds only acts as a representative for foreign collective investment schemes distributed solely to qualified investors. OpenFunds is the only Swiss legal representative also distributing to principal investors. With a team of 8 sales professionals and offices in Zurich, Geneva and Lugano, and an exclusive cooperation with a soon-to-be-established sister company at the DIFC in Dubai, OpenFunds is well-placed to reach out to some of the largest global investor communities.
