London-based SW Mitchell, which manages USD2billion of European equity assets in both long-only and long/short strategies, is scheduled to launch an alternatiPARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

London-based SW Mitchell, which manages USD2billion of European equity assets in both long-only and long/short strategies, is scheduled to launch an alternative UCITS fund June 1 reported HFMWeek. The UCITS III-compliant fund will enable SW Mitchell to widen its investor base whilst at the same time give investors exposure to its long/short equity offshore strategy, which has returned 70 per cent in the last three and a half years. Investment manager and partner, Jamie Carter (pictured), who joined the firm in 2006, will manage the new fund. It is believed the SWMC Small Cap European Fund will be Dublin domiciled and will be administered by Citibank International. Carter told HFMWeek that Europe’s problems on the periphery were “overemphasized” and that Europe’s core “overrides that dramatically”. He said that few global investors were doing the work in small-cap Europe as they were scared by the macro issues, so consequently “the region now offers exceptionally good value”. The overall strategy – both onshore and offshore – would be capped at USD200million according to Carter. “You always see that funds get too big and that’s when performance slides away,” said Carter. The launch of the UCITS is believed to be in response to client demand. A large-cap UCITS is scheduled for launch in October.