Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – French asset manager Carmignac is strengthening its long/short European equity franchise by welcoming Johan Fredriksson and Dean Smith. The duo previously co-managed a European long/short equity strategy at London-headquartered asset manager TT International. Fredriksson joined Carmignac on June 21, while Smith is set to join on 1 September. Together, they will oversee an extension of the asset manager’s long/short European strategy starting in September.
Carmignac decided to separate its long/short European strategy, which includes a Luxembourg SICAV and a French fonds commun de placement (FCP), an open-ended collective investment fund. Fredriksson and Smith will take over the management of the FCP fund as of September 1, which will be renamed Carmignac Absolute Return Europe (CARE). Malte Heininger will continue to manage the SICAV’s compartment, which remains unchanged. The two strategies will operate independently with distinct capacity limits. While Carmignac’s long/short European strategy remains unchanged, Fredriksson and Smith will focus on risk management, and volatility and incorporate some top-down inputs. This slightly-amended strategy strengthens Carmignac’s European long-short fund lineup.
“We’re pleased to continue hiring top-industry talent as we expand our alternatives proposition…”
“Investors are increasingly turning to uncorrelated strategies to complement their core allocation. We’re pleased to continue hiring top-industry talent as we expand our alternatives proposition, building a full range of solutions designed to meet various investor requirements,” comments Maxime Carmignac, managing director of Carmignac UK and head of strategic product development. “Carmignac has a proven track record in long-short investing. Dean and Johan will be valuable additions to our growing alternatives team and the wider investment team,” she continues. “Their deep experience and risk management skills will be beneficial as we boost the capacity of our long-short proposition, in the interest of our clients.”
“Carmignac has a proven track record in long-short investing. Dean and Johan will be valuable additions to our growing alternatives team and the wider investment team.”
The duo joins Carmignac from TT International, where they co-managed a European Opportunity Long-Short strategy. Since its launch in 2019, the strategy delivered strong risk-adjusted returns, placing the fund in the top quartile of its category. Their focus on risk management and drawdown limitation proved effective during two recent periods of market turmoil. During the Covid-19-induced market turmoil in the first quarter of 2020 when European equity markets fell by over 20 percent, the strategy achieved positive performance. In the challenging market conditions of 2022, the duo again generated positive and top-quartile performance.
Prior to joining TT International in 2019, Johan Fredriksson served as a Managing Director at Deutsche Bank. Fredriksson has over 20 years of sell-side experience in European equities. Dean Smith, who will join Carmignac as a Portfolio Manager in September, has over 25 years of experience managing European equity portfolios. Before his tenure at TT in 1998, Smith worked as a Portfolio Manager at LGT Asset Management.
