In the space of a mere ten months, assets at CI Investments’ liquid alternative funds have exceeded $1 billion.

Strategies that were earlier the domain of sophisticated hedge funds are now available to the everyday investor via a special kind of mutual fund. CI Liquid Alternative funds combine ‘alternative’ strategies with the on-tap liquidity of a mutual fund that can be bought or sold daily.

To uninitiated investors, the new liquid alternatives are a class of mutual funds with a difference. Imbued with ‘alternative’ strategies such as short selling, leverage, and derivatives, the icing on the cake is their ready liquidity. That’s because investors can buy or sell them on a daily basis.

CI Liquid Alternative Funds

CI Liquid Alternative Funds aim to change the status quo. “Since the 2008 Financial Crisis, asset classes have moved more in unison,” says the site. “While many high net worth and institutional investors have insulated their portfolios with alternative and real assets, many other investors haven’t had the same ability to do so.”

CI Liquid Alternative Funds bring hedge fund strategies within reach of the common investor. Attractive features include:

• Strategies uncorrelated to stocks and bonds;
• Low minimum of just $500; also,
• Inexpensive vehicles that access ‘hedge-fund-like’ flexibility and diversification to boost returns

“Advisors are increasingly turning to liquid alternatives as a tool in building well-rounded investment portfolios for their clients,” said Kurt MacAlpine , CEO of CI Financial, parent company of CI.

CI Investments

Meanwhile, one of Canada’s biggest investment management companies, CI is a subsidiary of CI Financial Corp. (CIX.TO), a Canadian wealth management firm with $176.1 billion in assets as of August 31, 2019.

Further, CI’s liquid alternative funds have amassed AUM of over $10 billion within a space of ten months after launch. The funds available in this category are:

• CI Lawrence Park Alternative Investment Grade Credit Fund – Corporate Bonds+alternative credit trading strategies
• CI Marret Alternative Absolute Return Bond Fund and CI Marret Alternative Absolute Return Bond Fund (USD Hedged) – Fixed Income + market cycles
• CI Munro Alternative Global Growth Fund – Global Fund + Thematic/Structural strategies

Finally, note that these are not a new asset class. Instead, they are a new kind of investing strategy to be used alongside existing positions as complementary funds.