Valletta Fund Management Limited introduces another innovative investment product – the Vilhena Diversified Multi-Manager Income Fund. This Fund aims to distribute income on a half-yearly basis, while offering the potential for capital growth. The Fund aims to deliver positive total returns in both rising and falling markets. The Vilhena Diversified Multi-Manager Income Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by gaining exposure to any one or more of the following asset classes, these being equities, bonds, cash, near cash and deposits, commodities, real estate property as well as, absolute return funds.
The Vilhena Diversified Multi-Manager Income Fund benefits from the multi-manager approach through which investors gain access to a careful selection of investment funds managed by several experts in the field, each applying different strategies and techniques, further complimenting the Fund’s strength through diversity. The Fund will be managed by Insight Investment’s multi-manager team, led by Mr Patrick Armstrong – director of fund and manager selection and Dr Ana Cukic-Munro – director of portfolio strategy and construction.
Moreover, the Vilhena Funds SICAV p.l.c. qualifies as a UCITS Scheme pursuant to the UCITS Directive. This implies that apart from being able to invest in certain types of financial instruments, the Vilhena Funds may also employ modern investment techniques and instruments such as financial derivative instruments with the aim of providing greater investment flexibility for the fund manager and therefore, potentially enhancing performance benefits for investors.
Speaking during a breakfast meeting, Peter Perotti, General Manager of Valletta Fund Management said, “The continued volatility experienced in global markets has justified the need for solutions that provide a cushioning effect for investment against such market volatility. In our view, Absolute Returns Funds have been one of the fastest growing investment products in recent years and promises to be the way forward in today’s market place. In a fund whereby performance is measured relative to a traditional benchmark, positive returns are likely to be achieved during a bull market, but performance is less attractive when a bear market inevitably arrives through a market cycle.
The Vilhena Diversified Multi-Manager Income Fund adopts a different strategy. The Fund uses a cash benchmark which coupled with the increased investment flexibility of a UCITS structure aims to attain positive returns, with less dependence on a rising market to achieve those returns. The Fund requires an investment horizon extended over a full market cycle to ensure a greater likelihood of meeting its target returns.” He continued saying, “Valletta Fund Management aims to become a leading absolute return investment house by combining the local market knowledge and international expertise of its shareholders, Bank of Valletta and Insight Investment Management (Global) Limited.”
The Fund is available in Maltese Lira and will be converted to Euro on 1 January 2008. Valletta Fund Management announced that during the initial offer period from 3 October 2007 to 31 October 2007, the initial fee will be discounted to two per cent.