Investment Managers who maintain positions in which the investment thesis is predicated on realization of a valuation discrepancy in the relationship between multiple securities. Managers employ a variety of fundamental and quantitative techniques to establish investment theses, and security types range broadly across equity, fixed income, derivative or other security types. Fixed income strategies are typically quantitatively driven to measure the existing relationship between instruments and, in some cases, identify attractive positions in which the risk adjusted spread between these instruments represents an attractive opportunity for the investment manager. RV position may be involved in corporate transactions also, but as opposed to ED exposures, the investment thesis is predicated on realization of a pricing discrepancy between related securities, as opposed to the outcome of the corporate transaction. RV is further subdivided into 6 sub-strategies:
1. RV: Fixed Income-Asset Backed includes strategies in which the investment thesis is predicated on realisation of a spread between related instruments in which one or multiple components of the spread is a fixed income instrument backed physical collateral or other financial obligations (loans, mortgages, credit cards) other than those of a specific corporation. Strategies employ an investment process designed to isolate attractive opportunities between a variety of fixed income instruments specifically securitized by collateral commitments which frequently include loans, pools and portfolios of loans, receivables, real estate, mortgage, machinery or other tangible financial commitments. Investment thesis may be predicated on an attractive spread given the nature and quality of the collateral, the liquidity characteristics of the underlying instruments and on issuance and trends in collateralized fixed income instruments, broadly speaking. In many cases, investment managers hedge, limit or offset interest rate exposure in the interest of isolating the risk of the position to strictly the yield disparity of the instrument relative to the lower risk instruments.
2. RV: Fixed Income-Convertible Arbitrage includes strategies in which the investment thesis is predicated on realization of a spread between related instruments in which one or multiple components of the spread is a convertible fixed income instrument. Strategies employ an investment process designed to isolate attractive opportunities between the price of a convertible security and the price of a non-convertible security, typically of the same issuer. Convertible arbitrage positions maintain characteristic sensitivities to credit quality the issuer, implied and realized volatility of the underlying instruments, levels of interest rates and the valuation of the issuer’s equity, among other more general market and idiosyncratic sensitivities.
3. RV: Fixed Income-Corporate includes strategies in which the investment thesis is predicated on realization of a spread between related instruments in which one or multiple components of the spread is a corporate fixed income instrument. Strategies employ an investment process designed to isolate attractive opportunities between a variety of fixed income instruments, typically realizing an attractive spread between multiple corporate bonds or between a corporate and risk free government bond. Fixed Income-Corporate strategies differ from Event Driven: Credit Arbitrage in that the former more typically involve more general market hedges which may vary in the degree to which they limit fixed income market exposure, while the latter typically involve arbitrage positions with little or no net credit market exposure, but are predicated on specific, anticipated idiosyncratic developments.
4. RV: Fixed Income - Sovereign includes strategies in which the investment thesis is predicated on realization of a spread between related instruments in which one or multiple components of the spread is a sovereign fixed income instrument. Strategies employ an investment process designed to isolate attractive opportunities between a variety of fixed income instruments, typically realizing an attractive spread between multiple sovereign bonds or between a corporate and risk free government bond. Fixed Income Sovereign typically employ multiple investment processes including both quantitative and fundamental discretionary approaches and relative to other Relative Value Arbitrage sub-strategies, these have the most significant top-down macro influences, relative to the more idiosyncratic fundamental approaches employed. RV: Fixed Income: Sovereign funds would typically have a minimum of 50% exposure to global sovereign fixed income markets, but characteristically maintain lower net exposure than similar strategies in Macro: Multi-Strategy sub-strategy.
5. RV: Volatility strategies trade volatility as an asset class, employing arbitrage, directional, market neutral or a mix of types of strategies, and include exposures which can be long, short, neutral or variable to the direction of implied volatility, and can include both listed and unlisted instruments. Directional volatility strategies maintain exposure to the direction of implied volatility of a particular asset or, more generally, to the trend of implied volatility in broader asset classes. Arbitrage strategies employ an investment process designed to isolate opportunities between the price of multiple options or instruments containing implicit optionality. Volatility arbitrage positions typically maintain characteristic sensitivities to levels of implied and realized volatility, levels of interest rates and the valuation of the issuer’s equity, among other more general market and idiosyncratic sensitivities.
6. RV: Yield Alternatives – Energy Infrastructure strategies employ an investment thesis which is predicated on realization of a valuation differential between related instruments in which one or multiple components of the spread contains exposure to Energy Infrastructure most typically achieved through investment in Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), Utilities or Power Generation. Strategies are typically fundamentally driven to measure the existing relationship between instruments and identify positions in which the risk adjusted spread between these instruments represents an attractive opportunity for the investment manager. In contrast to Equity Hedge strategies, the investment thesis is predicated on the yield differential realized from the securities as opposed to directional price appreciation of the underlying securities, and strategies typically contain greater than 50% of portfolio exposure to Energy Infrastructure positions.
7. RV: Yield Alternatives – Real Estate strategies employ an investment thesis which is predicated on realization of a valuation differential between related instruments in which one or multiple components of the spread contains exposure to investment in real estate directly (commercial or residential) or indirectly through Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITS). Strategies are typically fundamentally driven to measure the existing relationship between instruments and identify positions in which the risk adjusted spread between these instruments represents an attractive opportunity for the investment manager. In contrast to RVA: Fixed Income: Asset Backed, Yield Alternative: Real Estate contains primarily non-fixed income, non-securitized obligations, and strategies typically contain greater than 50% of portfolio exposure to Real Estate positions.
8. RV: Multi-Strategies employ an investment thesis is predicated on realization of a spread between related yield instruments in which one or multiple components of the spread contains a fixed income, derivative, equity, real estate, MLP or combination of these or other instruments. Strategies are typically quantitatively driven to measure the existing relationship between instruments and, in some cases, identify attractive positions in which the risk adjusted spread between these instruments represents an attractive opportunity for the investment manager. In many cases these strategies may exist as distinct strategies across which a vehicle which allocates directly, or may exist as related strategies over which a single individual or decision making process manages. Multi-strategy is not intended to provide broadest-based mass market investors appeal, but are most frequently distinguished from others arbitrage strategies in that they expect to maintain >30% of portfolio exposure in 2 or more strategies meaningfully distinct from each other that are expected to respond to diverse market influences.
Source : HFRI
