UFG Alteram, an asset management company specializing in funds of hedge funds
Created in 2001, UFG Alteram is a Groupe UFG company specialized in alternative multi-management. Rated IP2- by FitchRatings in 2006, the Company, headed by Xavier Lépine and Christian Desbois manages over €3.5bn as of end of december 2007.
As a specialist in funds of hedge funds, UFG Alteram offers access to the great variety of the hedge fund universe through a double approach of multi-strategy and single-strategy funds of hedge funds. Historically geared to institutional investors, UFG Alteram also meets the needs of financial advisor networks and distribution platforms, offering a complete range of innovative French-regulated funds of hedge funds. These employ the full panoply of strategies and are designed to be suitable for any type of portfolio.
A fund of hedge funds specialist
Alternative asset management – seeking absolute or asymmetrical performance, partial or conditional decorrelation – now occupies a special place in investors’ asset allocation decisions. It is considered an indispensable complement to a traditional portfolio.
The great variety of the alternative asset management universe, its specific risks and its diversity justify a multi-manager diversified approach, relying on a rigorous investment process to optimize and control risks and returns of the products.
Alternative asset management can show a number of drastically different approaches and should therefore not be analysed as a whole. UFG Alteram demonstrates this principle through its choices and positioning.
An investment process that has proven its worth
Over the long term, alternative indexes offer very attractive risk / return ratios to the investor. But it is not always possible to invest in most of these indexes. Therefore, UFG Alteram’s main goal is to offer products that reproduce the main characteristics of these indexes by taking a dual approach: selecting the best alternative asset managers through a rigorous process, and applying dynamic allocation techniques to the different strategies.
Alternative asset management and investing in alternative funds are processes that have associated risks. The entire UFG Alteram process aims to minimize these risks.
In 2007, Fitch Ratings recognized the quality of this management process and the continuous effort on its improvement by upgrading UFG Alteram's Investment Process rating to IP2 (from IP2- previously).
This rating reflects:
- The highly disciplined and formalised portfolio management process,
- The high quality of the legal and operational due diligence procedures,
- The company's strong investment risk management,
- The level of integration and flexibility of the IT platform,
- The adequate level of human resources and experience and its stability.
To get more information, please
download here the complete rating report.