The first single manager multi-strategy liquid alternatives UCITS from BlackRock in Europe offers daily liquidity.

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK) has introduced its Systematic Multi-Strategy ESG Screened fund in Europe. The new fund is categorized as Article 8 under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). It seeks to provide a total return in the form of capital and income through three uncorrelated and complementary strategies. (Institutional Asset Manager)

The BlackRock Systematic Multi-Strategy ESG Screened Fund

The fund is targeted at investors looking to diversify away from equities but are unsatisfied with the low yields available currently on traditional bonds. This fund will generate, for such investors, balanced and consistent returns across market cycles.

“The ongoing macro environment of low yields and rising inflation has forced investors to re-think the role of fixed income across portfolios as the return and diversification benefits have become more challenged,” says Jeff Rosenberg, Senior Portfolio Manager of the fund. “This Fund can be a solution for investors to tackle these macro and portfolio construction headwinds as it helps to add alternative sources of portfolio diversification and resilience.”

The three strategies of the fund

The new BlackRock fund will employ three uncorrelated and complementary strategies:

• Directional asset allocation – investing in a diversified portfolio of income-generating assets
• Macro – generating incremental return by maximizing opportunities across global interest-rate markets
• Defensive long/short equity – earn defensive returns by the use of credit expertise with equity selection.

The fund would be managed by BlackRock’s $ 82 billion Systematic Fixed Income team, a part of BlackRock’s Systematic Investment Group, which has $ 257 billion in AUM across alpha-seeking and factor-based investments.

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