The UCM Partners MIDAS Fund opened 2013 with a significant new investment from the Lauder Family Office, bringing assets under management above USD90m for the open-ended fund, which invests in residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities and in other asset-backed securities.

UCM Partners, a private, minority-owned fixed income investment manager with more than USD1bn in assets under management, specialises in the management of portfolios with a mortgage focus.

The firm's flagship MIDAS Fund finished 2012 with a 25 per cent return for the year and has returned 34 per cent since its inception on 4 January 2011 (returns net of fees). 
 
Greg Parsons (pictured), UCM's chief executive officer, says: "We are thrilled with the Lauder investment and believe that our investment team's skill set, size, and experience make it uniquely positioned to take full advantage of the opportunity that will continue to exist in the mortgage space for the next several years." 

The fund invests in RMBS, CMBS and ABS across the capital structure and credit quality spectra and is managed by chief investment officer Jay Menozzi and by portfolio managers Boris Peresechensky and Vesta Marks. The investment team combines quantitative analysis, including bottom-up, loan-level credit analysis and structural stress-testing with qualitative analysis that leverages the team's 20+ years of experience in the structured credit market.