Pioneer weathers the storm

Unicredito’s funds arm lays out a set of funds designed for a stormy climate. Unicredito’s E100bn global fund management operation Pioneer Investments is launching a string of new products tailored for tough economic conditions. Additions include a new bond fund for the Luxembourg range. Strategic Income invests in global fixed income across a wide range of sectors, classes and quality levels, including US and international investment grade, US high yield and emerging markets. It will aim to exploit performance differences between sectors through regular rebalancing. Pioneer’s new chief executive Matteo Perruccio revealed he is also planning to roll out a fund of hedge funds called All Weather at the end of spring. This will be followed by a raft of guaranteed funds based on products from its newly acquired fund of hedge funds subsidiary Momentum. There are also plans for new a range of single strategy, low volatility funds from Momentum. A number of structured products will be based on both long only and less traditional funds. Mr Perruccio said capital protected and alternative funds should be the most attractive products for investors in the current climate – and the most capable of delivering results.