Centurion Fund Managers has obtained regulatory approval from the CSSF in Luxembourg for its fourth open-ended longevity fund, the first in the market to combine macro and micro longevity. 

The professional investor fund, which is called the Centurion Longevity Fund, targets an annual return of six to nine per cent with low volatility and minimal correlation to the stock markets.
 
Centurion says investing in both macro and micro longevity products provides investors with more diversification and lower volatility and risk when compared to the more traditional micro longevity funds.

At the micro level the fund gives investors exposure to longevity funds with both physical and synthetic life settlements, based on lives that are individually underwritten. 

At the macro level, the fund invests in longevity derivative products including longevity notes, swaps and indices where there is no underwriting on the individual lives. The investment returns are based on the longevity experience of a large population, thus giving exposure to hundreds of thousands of lives rather than the few hundred that is more typical with micro longevity funds. 
 
The fund is structured as a Luxembourg registered Sicav organised as a specialised investment fund to give it pan-European appeal. It was launched in June 2009 with initial seed capital whilst waiting to receive regulatory approval from the CSSF.  It will now be marketed to European wealth managers, family offices and institutions seeking to invest in EU regulated and authorised products. An informal target of USD100m has been set for the fund.
 
David Rawson-Mackenzie (pictured), managing director of Centurion Fund Managers, says: “We realised that it would take some time to go through the rigorous due diligence process required by the Luxembourg authorities, particularly as our fund was unique in combining macro and micro longevity, but we now have a European compliant product with all of the transparency and reporting rigour that a Luxembourg Sicav dictates.”
 
The fund is denominated in EUR, GBP and USD with a minimum investment requirement of EUR125,000 or the currency equivalent.