Artisan Partners launches thematic fund
US-based asset manager Artisan Partners has launched the Artisan Thematic fund.
The new strategy is managed by Christopher Smith, founding portfolio manager of the firm’s thematic team, who joined the firm in October 2016 to start the eighth autonomous investment team.
Smith has 14 years investment experience at investment firms including Karsch Capital, Soros Capital and Kingdon Capital.
Artisan Partners CEO Eric Colson said: “Our business model provides the thematic team with the resources and autonomy to fully and purely implement its philosophy and process without distractions. Chris Smith brings a wealth of experience in managing concentrated long-only and long/short portfolios.”
“We are excited to have him and the team launch their first strategy, which utilizes a unique approach to capitalising on multi-year thematic trends through a high-conviction portfolio. The thematic fund is emblematic of our investment offerings that have higher degrees of investment flexibility and risk management tools.”
In regards to the team’s approach, Smith added: “We believe the combination of a top-down thematic framework and bottom-up analysis, with a keen focus on risk management, positions the portfolio to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns over the long term.”
