NETHERLANDS - Fidelity International has launched a mixed investment fund, which also includes commodities and indirect property, in addition to the traditional asset classes equity, fixed income and currency, it said.

The Multi Asset Strategic Fund (MASF) is aimed at investors who want a diversified portfolio with long-term growth potential, the asset manager explained.

The addition of commodities and indirect property to the MASF portfolio, sets the fund apart from the trend away from balanced mandates in the Netherlands, spokesman Henk van Eldik said. "This trend applies to classic mandates, which our funds isn't," he said.

The fund, which is managed from London by asset allocation specialist Trevor Greetham, is aimed at both institutions and private investors.

"In order to fit the instiutional investors' needs, we probably need to have tailor-made arrangements," Van Eldik said.

"So far, there has been a lot of interest from institutional investors for Trevor Greetham's approach."

The fund will apply now-casting, to immediately adjust the portfolio to changes in the economic cycle, it added. By investing this way, it can choose the most promising portfolio during each of the four economic stages of recovery, overheat, stagflation and reflation, it said.

The investment in commodities will be via Exchange-Traded Funds, because of their liquidity, Van Eldik pointed out. 

The MASF will mainly invest in existing portfolios, in-house managed by Fidelity's team at the same costs as a standard mixed portfolio.

Depending on the demand, Fidelity is considering to launch similar schemes, which could be based on geographical regions, currency or risk-return profile, Van Eldik added.

Meanwhile in the UK, Investec has launched an actively managed currency funds aimed directly at pension funds and other institutional clients.

The fund will select both developed and emerging market currencies for the fund, Investec stated. It will use an actively managed currency strategy taking both long and short positions. The fund will be highly geared.

"It is intended to be used as a vehicle for pension funds and other institutional clients who wish to invest a small proportion of their underlying asset allocation directly into currencies," according to Investec.

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