UBP is a pioneer in alternatives, investing in hedge funds since 1972, and is one of Europe’s top players in the industry, with close to USD 12 billion* worth of assets in alternatives today. UBP Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS), thanks to its institutional set-up, rigorous investment process, and solutions-driven approach, offers a broad range of products and services for private and institutional clients. * Data as of September 2020
Many things have changed in alternatives since the global financial crisis. What used to be considered as a high-risk, unregulated, non-transparent industry with poor liquidity and expensive fees has witnessed many evolutions since. Increased regulation with the emergence of alternatives UCITS funds has brought more transparency and improved liquidity. With the increased involvement of institutional investors, fees have become more competitive and the risk/return profile of alternative portfolios has become more conservative. Ultimately, these changes imply better protection for investors.
Alternative investments offer different characteristics, or profiles, each of which provides investment benefits in the context of a global portfolio allocation. In general, the addition of carefully selected alternative strategies should improve the risk/return profile of a portfolio. In the current market environment, characterised by low interest rates and volatile equity markets, alternative solutions can be split into three main profiles:
Hedge funds used to be considered as one single bucket of alpha-generating strategies, to complement traditional market beta in a client’s asset allocation. With the evolution of the industry, we now split alternatives into three buckets: Pure Alpha, Liquid Alpha, and Alternative Risk Premia (ARP). Each bucket has different costs and liquidity profiles, allowing investors to access alternatives more efficiently. We believe clients should accept higher fees or less liquidity only in exchange for clearly identified added value.
