Aberdeen Asset Management is to evolve its MM Multi-Asset Growth fund and broaden its total return remit by targeting the UCITS fund space.PARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Aberdeen Asset Management is to evolve its MM Multi-Asset Growth fund and broaden its total return remit by targeting the UCITS fund space. The revamped fund – Aberdeen MM Diversified Alpha Fund – will evolve out of the current GBP8million Growth fund and is planned to launch 1 May. The multi-manager team is headed up by Graham Duce (pictureed) and Aidan Kearney. Previously, the fund could only invest 50 per cent in total return funds and 50 per cent in directional long-only funds but the team will now have the chance to invest up to 100 per cent in total return funds according to Investment Week, thus helping reduce volatility and generate stable returns. The decision to focus on UCITS III-compliant funds reflects their increasing importance in the market. Aberdeen says it plans to capitalise on their expanding number and will look to invest primarily in equity-focused managers, in addition to those trading fixed income macro strategies. “Some 71 per cent of European hedge fund managers either manage or are planning to launch a Ucits III fund,” Kearney was quoted as saying. “With so many on the market and more to follow, a multi-manager approach seems sensible for intermediaries and investors without the time and skill set to filter down the universe.”