UOB asset management arm launches alternative investment fund for retail investors

Minimum investment starts at $1,000.

UOB Asset Management (UOBAM) launched its first alternative investment fund for retail investors, United Asia Pacific Diversified Strategies Fund (United Asia Pacific DSF). It is also the first daily liquidity alternative investment fund in Singapore with a focus on Asia Pacific.

According to an announcement, it will be submanaged by UOBAM’s subsidiary, UOB Alternative Investment Management (UOBAIM). The minimum investment sum for the United Asia Pacific DSF is $1,000 or US$1,000. The current distributor of the United Asia Pacific DSF is Professional Investment Advisory Services Pte. Ltd.

The fund is measured against an absolute return benchmark of 6% per annum. The majority of the United Asia Pacific DSF’s underlying funds are alternative funds regulated under the Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) framework.

One of the fund’s investments lies in long-short equity strategy funds that buy stocks expected to increase in value and short-sell those expected to drop before buying them back at a lower price to make a profit. It also has a daily liquidity feature which provides investors with the flexibility to purchase the fund daily and to sell it back to the fund at any time.

Alternative investment, such as funds that invest in private equity and hedge funds, is an emerging asset class in Singapore that is typically held by institutional or accredited investors who may be more familiar with sophisticated investment strategies, UOBAM noted.

“Retail investors will be able to access and to diversify their portfolio with an asset class designed to provide better long-term risk-adjusted returns compared with Asian equities and Asian bonds,” UOBAM said. “The asset class is also designed to provide capital appreciation through periods of market volatility.”

UOBAIM CEO Low Han Seng commented, “We have been helping high-net-worth individuals and institutional investors access alternative investment opportunities in Asia for many years. Alternative investment funds offer investors better long-term risk-adjusted returns when compared with traditional asset classes such as equities and bonds, due to their ability to capture opportunities in different market conditions.”