By Susan Barreto, Editor, AlternativesWatch.com
Boley and his team are rapidly exploring a new investment landscape that holds promise for active management, which is a huge structural shift in a market where beta had reigned for more than a decade, to the detriment of many traditional hedge fund strategies.
In 2020, Boley joined UBP as co-head of Alternative Investment Solutions (AIS) alongside John Argi after more than 20 years at GAM Investments, where he also headed the alternative investment services team. From his London offices, he has seen more than a few market cycles and is now as optimistic as ever, having guided UBP’s alternatives portfolio through the recent uncertain global macroeconomic environment.
“The Fed is telling everyone that we will be at higher rates for longer and the equity market isn’t listening,” he said in a recent interview with Alternatives Watch. “If the S&P 500 drops back to its long-term expected return level then peoples’ asset allocation levels will need to change. We think the S&P returns will continue to compress going forward.”
UBP manages $16 billion worth of assets in alternatives as of year-end 2022.
And even while in 2022 equity hedge funds in particular were challenged, there is a glimmer of optimism for Boley, who can see hedge funds returning to their knitting this year after a long hiatus.
This year he expects yields are going to become attractive and many investors will return to credit. Much of his focus is on those macro/systematic areas that are long volatility and non-correlated to equities and bonds. Then, Boley said, even if there is a recession macro managers should still benefit from that.
