Wells Fargo Asset Management launches Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) announced the launch of the Global Equity Absolute Return Fund, a sub-fund of the Wells Fargo (Lux) Worldwide Fund, on 26 April 2018. The new fund broadens the current international product suite. The fund is UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) compliant and available to both institutional and retail investors.

The Global Equity Absolute Return Fund aims to achieve long-term capital appreciation and an absolute, or positive, return regardless of market conditions. The fund is sub-advised by Analytic Investors, LLC, and managed by Harindra de Silva, CFA; Dennis Bein, CFA; and David Krider, CFA.

Mr de Silva is an industry veteran with 30 years of investment experience, as is Mr Bein with 26 years. Mr Krider has 14 years of investment experience.

We continue to build out our international product lineup using the expertise and time-tested investment process of Analytic Investors. The team is widely recognised for a commitment to innovative investment research, disciplined quantitative methods and an ability to implement sophisticated trading and portfolio management strategies, which are increasingly important in a complex global market. Analytic Investors now sub-advises three WFAM international funds, which we think allows our clients to have access to greater investment capabilities as well as competitive solutions to help them reach their financial goals around the world”, said Ludger Peters, managing director of International Business Development.

The fund is currently available in Austria, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom, with anticipated future registrations in Hong Kong, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea and Switzerland.

Investment strategy

Global Equity Absolute Return Fund

The sub-adviser employs a strategy of gaining long and short exposure in equity securities of issuers in developed markets. The fund considers developed markets to include countries included in the MSCI World Index. The fund will gain long exposure to equity securities that the sub-adviser believes will outperform the equity market on a risk-adjusted basis and will gain short exposure to equity securities that the sub-adviser believes will underperform the equity market on a risk-adjusted basis. The fund may have a long equity exposure of up to 100% of its net assets and a short equity exposure (achieved through the use of swap agreements and other types of derivatives) of up to 80% of its net assets.

Portfolio manager biographies

Harindra (Harin) de Silva, CFA, is president and portfolio manager for the Analytic Investors team at Wells Capital Management (WellsCap). Harin focuses on the ongoing research effort for equity and factor-based asset allocation strategies. He joined WellsCap from Analytic Investors, which was acquired in 2016. He has authored several articles and studies on finance-related topics, including stock market anomalies, market volatility and asset valuation. Before joining Analytic Investors, Harin was a principal at Analysis Group, Inc., where he was responsible for providing economic research services to institutional investors, including investment managers, large pension funds and endowments. He was recognised with the prestigious Graham and Dodd Award of Excellence for their research published in the Financial Analysts Journal in 2002 and 2005. Harin earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology; an MBA in finance and a master’s degree in econometrics from the University of Rochester; and a PhD in finance from the University of California, Irvine. He has earned the right to use the CFA designation.

Dennis Bein, CFA, is chief investment officer and portfolio manager for the Analytic Investors team at WellsCap. In this role, Dennis focuses on day-to-day portfolio management and research related to equity-based investment strategies. Dennis joined WellsCap from Analytic Investors, which was acquired in 2016. Before joining Analytic Investors, Dennis was a senior consultant for Analysis Group, Inc., where he provided investment consulting services for institutional investors and plan sponsors. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and an MBA in finance from the University of California, Riverside. He has earned the right to use the CFA designation.

David Krider, CFA, is a portfolio manager responsible for the ongoing research and development of global equity-based investment strategies as well as the day-to-day trading of global portfolios. Before joining the company, David was founder and chief technology officer of Visualize, Inc., a company that specialises in financial visualisation and analytic software. He was a research associate at First Quadrant before leaving to start his own company. David earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and computer science from the California Institute of Technology.

Portfolio manager interviews are available on request, as are fund summaries and photos.

 

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