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Rating:Touchstone Launches an Alt Not Rated 1.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Monday, October 14, 2013

Touchstone Launches an Alt

Reported by Tommy Fernandez

Another fund firm is tapping into investor appetite for positive returns, regardless of what the market does, with a new alternatives product-- this one based on arbitrage related to mergers and corporate reorganizations.

Touchstone [profile has launched a new product, the Touchstone Arbitrage Fund, which is sub-advised by Longfellow Investment Management.

Longfellow also serves as subadvisor to the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund, which was launched in August 2011 and currently has assets of $687 million.

The fund aims to generate positive returns regardless of market conditions over the long-term. It primarily invests in securities of companies that are involved in publicly announced mergers and other corporate reorganizations that have been defined and disclosed, capitalizing on the “arbitrage spread” represented by the difference in the market price of the securities of the target company and the value that is offered for these securities by the acquiring company. Non-deal arbitrage and fixed-income complement the Fund’s merger arbitrage investments. The Fund will be offered across several share classes.

The Fund’s portfolio management team includes Alexander R. Graham; Barbara J. McKenna; David C. Stuehr; and John E. Villela. Identifying, quantifying and managing risk forms the foundation of Longfellow’s strategy.

“Volatile equity markets and an uncertain interest rate path have prompted many investors to embrace alternative sources of investment returns. Just like the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund, which is closed to certain new investors, the Touchstone Arbitrage Fund represents one such alternative for investors seeking low-correlated returns to traditional stocks and bonds,” stated Steven Graziano, president of Touchstone Investments. “We are pleased that we are able to offer a second fund sub-advised by Longfellow where they can put their deep arbitrage investment expertise to work.”

Here is the press release:
Company Press Release

Touchstone Investments Launches Arbitrage Fund

Fund Seeks Positive Returns Regardless of Market Conditions Over the Long-Term

CINCINNATI – Oct. 14, 2013 – Touchstone Investments announces its newest alternative investment offering with the launch of the Touchstone Arbitrage Fund. The Fund is sub-advised by Longfellow Investment Management Co. Longfellow also serves as sub-advisor to the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund launched in August 2011 and with current assets of $687 million.

“Volatile equity markets and an uncertain interest rate path have prompted many investors to embrace alternative sources of investment returns. Just like the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund, which is closed to certain new investors, the Touchstone Arbitrage Fund represents one such alternative for investors seeking low-correlated returns to traditional stocks and bonds,” said Steven Graziano, president of Touchstone Investments. “We are pleased that we are able to offer a second fund sub-advised by Longfellow where they can put their deep arbitrage investment expertise to work.”

The Touchstone Arbitrage Fund seeks to achieve positive returns regardless of market conditions over the long-term. It primarily invests in securities of companies that are involved in publicly announced mergers and other corporate reorganizations that have been defined and disclosed. Merger arbitrage is an investment strategy that seeks to capture the “arbitrage spread” represented by the difference in the market price of the securities of the target company and the value that is offered for these securities by the acquiring company. Non-deal arbitrage and fixed-income complement the Fund’s merger arbitrage investments. The Fund will be offered across several share classes.

Identifying, quantifying and managing risk forms the foundation of Longfellow’s strategy. Focus is placed on what are considered to be deals of publicly listed and traded equity securities tied to mergers and acquisitions, supplemented by fixed income and other arbitrage and event-driven investments. The Fund’s portfolio management team includes Alexander R. Graham, CAIA; Barbara J. McKenna, CFA; David C. Stuehr, CFA; and John E. Villela, CFA. Collectively, the team brings more than four decades of arbitrage investing experience to Touchstone.

“Touchstone has emerged as a leader in offering innovative mutual strategies designed to meet investors’ goals and risk-return objectives,” said McKenna, managing principal and portfolio manager. “We are confident that Longfellow’s successful investment process, used in the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund, will readily translate to the new Touchstone Arbitrage Fund.”

  The Fund invests in equities which are subject to market volatility and loss. The Fund invests in stocks of large-cap companies which may be unable to respond quickly to new competitive challenges. The Fund invests in stocks of small- and mid-cap companies, which may be subject to more erratic market movements than stocks of larger, more established companies. The Fund invests in foreign securities, and ADRs and GDRs which carry the associated risks of economic and political instability, market liquidity, currency volatility and differences in accounting standards. The Fund invests in companies that are or expected to be the subject of a publicly announced transaction that may not be completed or may be completed on less favorable terms than originally expected. The Fund invests in preferred stocks which are relegated below bonds for payment should the issuer be liquidated and can be called or redeemed prior to maturity, negatively impacting the stock's price when interest rates decline. The Fund invests in convertible securities which are subject to the risks of both debt securities and equity securities. The Fund invests in debt securities which can lose their value as interest rates rise and are subject to the possibility of an issuer failing to make timely payments of principal or interest including the possibility of prepayment and an investor can lose principal. The Fund invests in non-investment grade debt securities which are considered speculative with respect to the issuers' ability to make timely payments of interest or principal and has in the past, had more frequent and larger price changes than other debt securities. The Fund invests in other investment companies which typically reflect the risks of the securities in which the investment companies invest and bear their proportionate share of fees and expenses; closed-end funds may lack an active market and trading may be halted or delisted. The Fund invests in Rule 144A securities which are traded in the institutional market pursuant to a registration exemption, and as a result, may not be as liquid as exchange-traded securities. The Fund is involved in short selling which may result in additional costs associated with covering short positions and a possibility of unlimited loss. The Fund may experience higher portfolio turnover which may lead to increased fund expenses, lower investment returns, and higher short-term capital gains taxable to shareholders. The Fund is non-diversified, which means that it may invest a greater percentage of its assets in the securities of a limited number of issuers than a diversified fund and may be subject to greater risks. Current and future portfolio holdings are subject to risk. The advisor engages the sub-advisor to manage the Fund's portfolio; the sub-advisor's judgment may impact the Fund’s performance.

Please consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. The prospectus and the summary prospectus contain this and other information about the Fund. To obtain a prospectus or a summary prospectus, contact your financial advisor or download and/or request one at TouchstoneInvestments.com/home/formslit/ or call Touchstone at 800.638.8194. Please read the prospectus and/or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

Investment return and principal value of an investment in a Fund will fluctuate so that investor’s shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Investment products offered are not FDIC insured, may lose value and have no bank guarantee.

  About Touchstone Investments

Touchstone Investments is a mutual fund company committed to providing investors with access to institutional asset managers who act in a sub-advisory capacity. While its sub-advisors are held to strict performance standards, they work with a large measure of independence and operate within their own demonstrated areas of expertise. Touchstone’s sub-advisor selection and monitoring approach is built upon the conviction that an asset manager’s organizational stability, quality of its personnel, adherence to its investment discipline and infrastructure represent the elements of repeatable, value-added performance results over time. This philosophy has resulted in a diverse but focused product offering that gives investors a full breadth of investment options across styles and asset classes. The Touchstone Funds are advised by Touchstone Advisors, Inc., a registered investment advisor, and are distributed nationally through intermediaries including broker-dealers, financial planners and institutions by Touchstone Securities, Inc., a registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/SIPC. Touchstone, Touchstone Funds and Touchstone Investments are federal service mark registrations and applications owned by IFS Financial Services, Inc. Touchstone Securities, Inc., Touchstone Advisors, Inc. and IFS Financial Services, Inc. are members of Western & Southern Financial Group. For more information, please visit www.TouchstoneInvestments.com.

  About Western & Southern Financial Group

Beginning as The Western and Southern Life Insurance Company in 1888 in Cincinnati, Western & Southern Financial Group (Western & Southern) is marking its 125th anniversary in business and is now a Fortune 500 diversified family of financial services companies with assets owned and managed in excess of $60 billion as of Sept. 30, 2013. Western & Southern is one of the eight highest-rated life insurance groups in the world based on Standard & Poor’s ratings. For more information, visit www.westernsouthern.com. Western & Southern is the title sponsor of the Western & Southern Open (www.wsopen.com) tennis tournament, a premier event in the U.S. Open Series featuring the world’s top-ranked professional male and female players.

  About Longfellow Investment Management Co.

Longfellow Investment Management Co. provides domestic fixed income and alternative investment strategies for institutions. Founded in 1986, the Boston-based firm utilizes a disciplined strategy focused on bottom-up fundamental analysis, seeking to preserve capital and minimize volatility while earning attractive risk-adjusted returns.
  

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