Guernsey-headquartered Freedom Asset Management is expanding its reach outside of Europe with the successful amalgamation of the Somerset Capital Fund with its own Guernsey-based protected cell company (PCC) Opus Global Cautious Fund.
The move brings together Somerset Capital's mainly Canada-based clients with international investment management business Freedom's European client base. It is the intention to build out Freedom's Canadian client nexus and develop new Canadian fund products for the European institutional market.
Thanks to the addition, the combined range of Freedom Opus Guernsey-based funds now exceeds $50 million in assets under management.
Freedom Chief Executive Sandrine Reynaud was delighted to welcome new investors into the Opus Global Cautious Fund.
"This marks a new avenue for the development of Freedom Asset Management outside European markets," she said. "2017 will mark an important year of growth for Freedom as we capitalise on our existing funds' excellent performance and add new strategies to the range.
"Freedom has had a long-standing relationship with the principals of Somerset, and they recognised our expertise in managing funds for private clients."
Ms Reynaud added that Guernsey is regarded by Canadian investors as a well-regulated investment destination on par with other European jurisdictions and that the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, who reviewed the process, understood what needed to be achieved.
Under Canadian regulation, the amalgamation of Somerset's Maltese structure and the Guernsey fund was possible without triggering an event for the investors.
As part of the amalgamation, Freedom has appointed Laurie Winters of Vancouver Financial Planning to the investment committee of the Opus Global Cautious Fund and David Birnie QC to the board of Freedom Global Funds PCC Ltd.
Freedom Chief Investment Officer Simon Fentham-Fletcher said: "After an especially strong 12 months of performance, which according to Bloomberg rankings of peer funds, places our Opus Global Cautious Fund in the top 10% of managers globally, I was pleased to be able to present to our new Canadian investors in Vancouver at the end of May.
"Global portfolios are best managed by seeing what is happening on the ground in the key global economies. By further building our client footprint, we have a natural opportunity to see the global economy in action – and to take advantage of that insight in the investment decisions we realise."
For more information about Guernsey's finance industry please visit www.guernseyfinance.com.
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