- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Related

Varma Divests From Credit, Goes Into Macro Hedge Funds

Latest Report

- Advertisement -

Stockholm (Hedgenordic/Bloomberg) – Varma, the Finnish private-sector pension firm with about 45 billion euros of assets, may shift more money into global macro investments as it sours on credit, Bloomberg reports.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co. may shrink its exposure to credit long/short strategies later this year or in the first half of 2019, according to Kai Rimpi, its director of hedge funds. The company has already cut investment in the strategies over the last two years to 5 percent of its portfolio, from 15 percent.

“Corporate credit long/short hedge funds are one area where it’s just very difficult to generate the risk-adjusted returns we’re looking for”, Rimpi said in an interview. “It’s performed extremely well for years but now that spreads are tight, it will make producing similar returns difficult.”

“Corporate credit long/short hedge funds are one area where it’s just very difficult to generate the risk-adjusted returns we’re looking for”

Varma has about 8.5 billion euros, or some 18 percent of the money it manages, invested in hedge funds. Macro allocations may climb to 18 percent of the total from the current 15 percent, according to Rimpi. The firm also invests in multi-strategy funds and relative value.

“It’s been difficult for many years, but we feel that opportunities are definitely improving in global macro, particularly for developed markets,” he said.

According do databases tracking the global macro industry, performance this year has been a mixed bag. The Barclayhedge Global Macro Index was down 0.2 percent by the end of September while the Eurekahedge Global Macro Hedge Fund Index posted a net loss of 0.8 percent. In 2017, those indices produced returns of around 4 percent.

Varma’s hedge fund investments are up 3.4 percent through June 30. That’s down from an 8.5 percent gain for the whole of last year and a 5.6 percent rise in 2016, according to the company.

Photo by Porapak Apichodilok from Pexels

Subscribe to HedgeBrev, HedgeNordic’s weekly newsletter, and never miss the latest news!

Our newsletter is sent once a week, every Friday.

HedgeNordic Editorial Team
HedgeNordic Editorial Team
This article was written, or published, by the HedgeNordic editorial team.

Latest Articles

Mapping the Finnish Hedge Fund Landscape

Beyond operating as a media platform, HedgeNordic maintains an extensive database of Nordic hedge funds and related data. Although the data is not without...

Quirky Questions for Serge Houles (Tidan Capital)

Not every conversation in the hedge fund world needs to revolve around alpha, Sharpe ratios, or fund flows. In the ongoing Quirky Questions series,...

Quirky Questions for Mette Østerbye Vejen (Caba Capital)

Not every conversation in the hedge fund world needs to revolve around alpha, Sharpe ratios, or fund flows. In the ongoing Quirky Questions series,...

Solid First-Half Finish for Nordic Hedge Funds

Nordic hedge funds wrapped up the first half of the year on a solid note, delivering an average gain of 1.4 percent in June....

Brevan Howard Winds Down Volatility Fund Managed by Ville Helske

Brevan Howard Asset Management is winding down a volatility-focused hedge fund run by high-profile Finnish portfolio manager Ville Helske. Helske, formerly Head of Allocation...

Ymer to Launch Fourth CLO Fund with Proven Strategy and Structure

Building on the track record of three previous credit funds, Swedish alternative credit specialist Ymer SC AB is preparing to roll out its fourth...

Allocator Interviews

In-Depth: High Yield

Voices

Request for Proposal

- Advertisement -
HedgeNordic
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.