BlackRock has launched the BSF Tactical Opportunities Plus Fund, a new liquid alternatives UCITS strategy designed to meet growing investor demand for macro strategies that can generate uncorrelated returns and improve portfolio resilience during periods of heightened market volatility. The new fund builds on BlackRock’s Tactical Opportunities strategy, launched in 2016, which has delivered positive returns in every calendar year since inception, while seeking to offer investors greater return potential through the same investment process.
The BSF Tactical Opportunities Plus Fund aims to generate alpha by exploiting macro dispersion and pricing dislocations across equities, fixed income, and foreign exchange markets in more than 25 countries. The strategy seeks to capitalize on changing macroeconomic conditions through tactical positioning across global asset classes, rather than relying on broad market direction.
“In a world where traditional, long-only diversifiers have become less reliable and macro dispersion is elevated, investors are increasingly looking to liquid alternatives and macro strategies to deliver consistent, uncorrelated returns in portfolios,” says Tom Becker, Lead Portfolio Manager of the Tactical Opportunities Plus Fund. “We believe this new offering is well positioned to deliver for clients in this regime of high macro dispersion across global markets.”
“In a world where traditional, long-only diversifiers have become less reliable and macro dispersion is elevated, investors are increasingly looking to liquid alternatives and macro strategies to deliver consistent, uncorrelated returns in portfolios.”
Tom Becker, Lead Portfolio Manager of the Tactical Opportunities Plus Fund.
The launch comes as BlackRock sees increasing demand from institutional investors for strategies that complement traditional stock-and-bond portfolios. According to Jon Valdelin, Head of Institutional for BlackRock in the Nordics, investors seek to “diversify beyond traditional equity and fixed income exposures, access differentiated sources of alpha, and improve portfolio resilience in a more volatile macro environment.” He also highlights what he describes as “a greater willingness to complement strategic asset allocation with more dynamic, tactical approaches that can respond to shifts in dispersion, correlations, and relative value across asset classes.” Valdelin believes “the Tactical Opportunities Plus Fund can play an important role within that broader portfolio toolkit.”
”A clear trend we are observing is a greater willingness to complement strategic asset allocation with more dynamic, tactical approaches that can respond to shifts in dispersion, correlations and relative value across asset classes.”
Jon Valdelin, Head of Institutional for BlackRock in the Nordics.
The fund is managed by BlackRock’s Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA) team, which oversees approximately $60 billion on behalf of institutional and wealth clients globally, including roughly $8 billion invested in the existing Tactical Opportunities strategy. The new fund leverages the same investment framework and risk management process that has underpinned the flagship strategy for nearly a decade, while targeting higher returns.
The existing Tactical Opportunities strategy has delivered positive returns in every calendar year since its launch, including 2022, and has generated annualized returns of more than six percent since inception. “The Plus Fund is designed to offer clients greater return potential while maintaining the same investment process and disciplined risk management that have characterized Tactical Opportunities for nearly a decade,” Becker concludes.
