In the wake of historic market losses and epic scandals, a restless and empowered investor base is demanding greater transparency and liquidity from managers, while focusing on absolute returns and uncorrelated investment strategies.
Phil Masterson
This combination of factors is driving convergence of traditional and alternative investment products, with investors pouring more than $110 billion into alternative mutual funds in the US and Europe in 2009 alone, according to a white paper released by SEI in collaboration with Strategic Insight.
The paper, Exotic to Mainstream: Growth of Alternative Mutual Funds in the United States and Europe, evaluates the opportunities and challenges managers face when launching and distributing alternative investment strategies in a registered mutual fund or UCITS format, as the trend toward 'mainstream alternatives' gains significant momentum.
As evidenced by inflows to these alternative mutual funds, investor demand creates new opportunities for managers....