- Advertisement -
- Advertisement -

Related

Mandatum’s Trend-Follower Thrives Amidst Reversals

Report: Alternative Fixed Income

- Advertisement -

Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Following a third consecutive month of losses for both stocks and bonds in October, trend-followers entered November with short exposure to both markets. However, they were wrong-footed in November as stocks rebounded and bond yields tumbled, prompted by the Federal Reserve and other central banks signaling a possible end to the current cycle of rising interest rates. In contrast, Mandatum Managed Futures Fund stood out by successfully capturing trends in both November and so far in December.

Utilizing machine learning algorithms that select the optimal combination of momentum-based models for a given environment, Mandatum Managed Futures Fund recorded a 4.3 percent gain in November and an additional 4.2 percent month-to-date through the end of last week. “In November, our fund achieved a solid return, showcasing our ability to navigate market shifts,” says portfolio manager Ville Rantanen. “We attribute this success to our strategic use of a diverse set of models, and ability to allocate dynamically between models of varying speeds and logics.”

“In November, our fund achieved a solid return, showcasing our ability to navigate market shifts.”

The fund’s monthly letter to investors for November highlighted the positive impact of investments in interest and stock markets on the return, while foreign exchange investments had a slightly negative effect. “Market interest rates fell sharply in November due to the slowdown in inflation. This also had a positive effect on the return on the stock market,” says the letter. The fund’s average exposure to equities was around 48 percent in November, rising to 110 percent by month-end. The letter suggested that if the positive development in stock and interest markets continues, the fund may maintain a substantial weight in these asset classes in December. This exposure played a role in Mandatum Managed Futures Fund’s performance in the first week of December, achieving a 4.2 percent gain month-to-date.

“Unlike traditional approaches, our unique return profile is shaped by a dynamic risk-taking combined with regime change detection models.”

“Unlike traditional approaches, our unique return profile is shaped by a dynamic risk-taking combined with regime change detection models,” explains Rantanen. “This approach allows us to capitalize on emerging opportunities, setting us apart in the CTA fund landscape.” Mandatum Managed Futures Fund indeed sets itself apart from the broader CTA landscape, with the fund exhibiting a correlation of only 0.4 with the SG CTA Index, which tracks the performance of the world’s largest trend-following CTAs.

After three consecutive years of positive performance since its December 2019 launch, with gains of 10.4 percent in 2021 and 11 percent in 2022, Mandatum’s managed futures vehicle experienced a 4.4 percent decline year-to-date through the end of last week. The year-to-date decline was trimmed after an 8.8 percent advance since the end of October.

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

Our newsletter is sent once a week, every Friday.

Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun
Eugeniu Guzun serves as a data analyst responsible for maintaining and gatekeeping the Nordic Hedge Index, and as a journalist covering the Nordic hedge fund industry for HedgeNordic. Eugeniu completed his Master’s degree at the Stockholm School of Economics in 2018. Write to Eugeniu Guzun at eugene@hedgenordic.com

Latest Articles

High-Yield Bonds Knock Out Stocks

Nordic high-yield bonds and the managers specializing in them have delivered strong returns in recent years, even outperforming local equity markets. Jarle Sjo, Head...

EM Corporate Bonds: Could Trump’s Tariffs Create Opportunities?

By Toke Hjortshøj, Senior Portfolio Manager at Impax Asset Management: Emerging market (EM) corporate bonds are on the frontline of the tariff war that...

Infrastructure’s Role in Europe’s Transformation

As Europe accelerates its transition toward a greener and more digital future, infrastructure investment has become a cornerstone of this transformation. However, a funding...

Capital Four Reaches Hard Cap for Fifth Private Debt Vintage

Copenhagen-based credit specialist Capital Four has reached the hard cap of €3 billion for its fifth private debt vintage, Private Debt V – Senior....

Othania Introduces UCITS Version of All-Weather Strategy

Danish boutique asset manager Othania has assumed management of the UCITS-structured fund ØU Invest Balance KL, which will be rebranded as Othania Stabil UCITS...

Hilbert Expands Asset Management Arm

Hilbert Group, which operates an asset management business specializing in hedge funds focused on digital assets, has completed the acquisition and integration of digital...

Allocator Interviews

In-Depth: Megatrends

Voices

Request for Proposal

- Advertisement -