Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management has launched the DWS Strategic Equity Long/Short Fund, a mutual fund which seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation by employing a multi-manager investment approach.

Assets will be allocated among separate sub-advisors with diverse equity long/short investment strategies across various market capitalisations and geographies.
 
“Alternative mutual funds are a critical part of our overall Americas strategy and we are committed to growing this platform,” says Jerry Miller, head of DeAWM in the Americas. “With over USD135 billion in alternative assets under management and over 40 years in the space, DeAWM is one of the world’s largest and most experienced alternatives advisors in the industry.”
 
Alternative mutual funds have been one of the fastest growing investment strategies in the industry, providing retail and institutional clients with new sources of return in a mutual fund structure. Alternative mutual funds invested in long/short equity strategies, in particular, have benefited from significant inflows, as they offer enhanced diversification potential and attractive risk-return profiles versus traditional assets.
 
“DWS Strategic Equity Long/Short Fund is a great example of DeAWM’s competencies coming together in a product that will allow investors to diversify their equity exposures and capitalise on market opportunities,” says Bernard Abdo, head of DeAWM’s Alternative & Fund Solutions (AFS) group in the Americas. “It combines our research and risk management capabilities with the expertise of some of the leading long/short equity managers into a single mutual fund, which seeks attractive, risk-adjusted returns over the long term.”
 
The fund’s assets are allocated across the following four sub-advisors, based on their risk-adjusted return profiles and the macroeconomic landscape:
 
Omega Advisors – developed equity long/short
Atlantic Investment Management – developed equity long/short
Chilton Investment Company – global equity long/short
Lazard Asset Management – global equity long/short
 
Martin Fothergill, who heads AFS’ global hedge fund group, says: “The four sub-advisors of the fund are all top players in the industry, and we believe their complementary approaches to long/short investing will be attractive to prospective investors.”
 
Deutsche Investment Management Americas is the fund’s investment advisor and DWS Investments Distributors is the fund’s distributor.