Investment Teams
Introduction
At Unigestion, we believe in the efficiency of a team management approach using a consistently applied and refined investment process rather than in individual star managers. In keeping with this ethos, the investment teams have a flat structure, with members participating in the investment process in line with their expertise and abilities.
A total of 71 investment professionals are responsible for portfolio management, trading, and research and development across all our areas of expertise.
197
Employees
71
Investment professionals
Equities
The 23-strong Equities team manages a range of risk-managed equity strategies across both pooled and segregated products. They also run active factor allocation and volatility strategies. The team is predominantly based in Geneva, with additional members in London.
We believe that downside protection and positive return asymmetry are the drivers of long-term performance. This conviction is supported by academic research, which shows that risk-efficient portfolios outperform their benchmarks in the long run.
The team is structured around four distinct functions
Portfolio Managers
Portfolio Managers construct portfolios, make investment decisions, monitor portfolios day-to-day and enhance the management process through research projects. They also carry out qualitative stock analysis on purchase candidates.
Client Portfolio Managers
Client Portfolio Managers are responsible for ensuring all clients understand the investment process, portfolio positions and performance patterns of their funds. In addition, they work with clients to customise existing strategies to fit their needs, and input into investment-oriented research.
Research
The research team comprises both fundamental and quantitative analysts. Fundamental Analysts aim to identify and monitor the critical fundamental risk factors which will influence purchase candidates and the stocks held in portfolios. Quantitative Analysts conduct quantitative research and develop the proprietary risk analysis tools used by the team.
Traders
Our trading team focuses on effectively implementing strategies as well as developing models to help predict and reduce market impact while trading. They also monitor markets, informing Portfolio Managers of any events that may impact their portfolios.
Multi-Asset and Wealth Management
The Multi-Asset and Wealth Management team manages a variety of multi-strategy portfolios using a unique, macro risk-based approach. Investing in a diverse range of risk premia, they manage total and absolute return strategies through both pooled funds and segregated mandates, as well as offering advisory and specialised allocations to alternative investments.
The 15-strong team is based primarily in Geneva and London. It brings together a combination of complementary skills and experience in managing sophisticated single and multi asset portfolios, across both traditional and alternative investments. The team takes a collaborative approach to managing portfolios to leverage these diverse skillsets and expertise.
The Multi-Asset and Wealth Management team’s mission is to provide our investors with cost-effective and liquid access to sources of return that exhibit a low correlation to traditional assets. We believe this is best achieved by allocating across an expanded universe of risk premia using a macro risk-based investment framework
The investment management team is divided into three sub-teams, each with their own distinct specialism
Systematic Strategies team
Designs and manages the portfolios’ core long-term strategic allocation and, more broadly, the purely systematic portfolios using a rules-based investment approach.
Global Macro & Dynamic Asset Allocation team
Analyses macroeconomic and market conditions to define the appropriate allocation. Unigestion’s proprietary tools designed for this purpose (Nowcasters), in combination with the team’s skills and expertise, are key to our innovative risk-managed investment approach.
External Strategies team
Identifies and researches external sources of return for customised Multi-Asset solutions, from strategies that can be long/short or long only, passive or active (alpha generating). This covers hedge funds, alternative risk premia, long-only products provided by asset managers or investment banks. The team also manages funds of funds combining these products.
Private Equity
Over the last 35 years, Unigestion’s Private Equity team has become one of Europe’s leading players in private equity, covering all segments globally, with a particular focus on the small and mid-market. Today, this 50-strong team of investment specialists and client service professionals manage USD 10.9 billion for more than 180 global institutional clients. The team manages a range of primary, secondary and direct co-investment funds, as well as tailored investment solutions and specialty offerings. The team operates from six offices globally, ensuring comprehensive coverage of Europe, North America and Asia. The multi-lingual, multi-national team unifies a broad, complementary skill base and has helped build up a solid global network of over 300 investment partners.
The sourcing and development of new relationships is a core activity of the Private Equity team and we have built up one of the strongest networks in the industry, helping us maintain a strong, high-quality deal flow
Diverse and knowledgeable team
Successful investing demands broad experience as well as local knowledge. The team members combine experience of global investment and financial markets with knowledge of local politics, economic conditions, cultures and business practices.
All team members have lived or travelled extensively in the regions they are responsible for. Their local understanding and networks help us to create a multicultural, open-minded, challenging environment. Each team member has specialised knowledge of a region or sector and they are united by their drive, commitment and belief in our unique approach to private equity investment.
Award-winning
In recent years, the team has won numerous industry awards for investment strategy and performance, innovation and client service. These are testament to the quality of not only our investment portfolios, but also the expertise of our people.
The team was awarded ‘Private Equity Manager of the Year’ at the European Pensions Awards in 2017 and 2018. In addition, the team received the Gold Award (2018) and Silver Award (2017) for ‘Best LP, Global Strategy with Private Equity Allocation < $10bn’ as well as the Gold Award (2011, 2016) and the Silver Award (2012 – 2015) for ‘Best LP, Regional Strategy’ by Private Equity Exchange & Awards.
Our collaborative investment platform
Our global investment platform is designed to foster close collaboration between our investment teams and allows us to leverage specialist skillsets from across the firm in a more efficient and rewarding manner. Each investment line benefits from access to the following:
- Macroeconomic research: the Macro Committee brings together specialists from across all our investment teams. It focuses on measuring and tracking five key risk factors to financial markets – cycles to growth, inflation and risk appetite, market momentum and market valuation. Combining these five drivers makes it possible to build a macroeconomic scenario and to track its evolution through time. This assessment is done by aggregating a large spectrum of data that is monitored in a real-time manner, avoiding bias and fads that usually affect sell-side macro research. This global scenario is used to dynamically allocate risk and capital for a number of Unigestion portfolios. Within our macro research, we have developed three proprietary indicators to assess conditions in real time, known as Nowcasters. We use their output to inform portfolio allocation decisions to varying degrees across all of our areas of expertise.
- Quantitative research: through our company-wide Research Committee, members from all our investment teams meet regularly to share ideas, leverage best practices and collaborate on research projects. We believe this cross-team approach to research makes our strategies more efficient and competitive compared to companies which are 100% specialised in a given investment strategy.
- Trading: Our central trading desk focuses on optimised and cost-efficient portfolio implementation.
- Responsible Investment: Our Responsible Investment Committee is tasked with building, enhancing and transparently sharing our ESG policies and practices. It is chaired by our Responsible Investment Coordinator and includes the CEO, the Head of Multi-Asset and Wealth Management, the Co-Head of Investment Management for Private Equity, our Corporate Engagement Coordinator, our Legal Officer, who is an expert in ESG issues, and representatives from the Business Development team and each of our investment strategies.
