The Candriam Digital Long Short Equity fund will take “no directional risk”, will invest predominantly in global large caps, but it will focus on Europe, even though most ‘digital disruptors’ are based in Asia and the US. Europe has a projected weighting of 75%, while the remainder is expected to be allocated to US stocks.
“The digital evolution of the economy is affecting all sectors and is pushing legacy firms to choose between transformation and economic death”, says César Zeitouni, who is in charge of the new strategy.
“Digital technologies are no longer confined to the technology sector, but are redefining sectors from banking, to retail, to automotive. In the current economy, we believe there is an “Airbnb” hidden in all sectors,” he added.
Give it another try
The fund, which doesn’t have a benchmark, aims to invest in companies across sectors that are active in the new digital economy, such as business services, fintech, internet and automotive.
Zeitouni managed a similar fund at Paris-based Exane Asset Management from December 2013 to March 2016. Then the Exane Funds 2 Prime Technology Fund was liquidated after being hit by outflows resulting from poor performance at the start of the year (see graph below).
Candriam didn’t announce the charges for the fund, but the total expense ratio of Zeitouni’s previous fund was a hefty 2.3%…
