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Surpassing CHF 10 billion in assets under management in the first half of 2017 constitutes another milestone in Fisch Asset Management’s 23-year history. The Swiss company specialising in corporate and convertible bonds is thus staying its course of organic and sustainable growth. “We are thrilled with this progress. An increase in assets under management is important evidence of an asset manager’s success, and shows that we offer the right solutions for our clients’ needs,” said Dr. Hansjörg Herzog, Head of Clients & Markets and member of the Executive Committee at Fisch Asset Management.
As of 30 June 2017, assets under management were CHF 10.2 billion, having risen by CHF 616 million since 31 December 2016, equating to 6% growth. Herzog added, “This growth is spread across several strategies. Our high yield strategy has generated a noteworthy degree of interest. On the one hand, this is attributable to the higher yields that investors are seeking in the bond segment. On the other, it is because our fund managers have been able to generate attractive returns, despite maintaining a defensive approach that largely avoids the riskiest parts of their segment. After substantial inflows in the past 12 months, the assets under management for the high yield strategy now amount to more than CHF 820 million.
“We’ve also been seeing high demand for the multi-asset theme from institutional investors, meaning our multi-asset strategies have almost tripled in volume over the last year. Our approach combines our high yield and convertible bond strategies into a ‘Best of Fisch’ portfolio component. Its intense focus on risk management allows investors to participate in equity market uptrends in a controlled manner and with a built-in safety mechanism,” Herzog explained. He added, “We’ve recently seen renewed interest in convertible bonds too. Combined with our targeted approach that minimises the risk of loss, their inherent advantages are striking a particular chord with investors at the moment. This should be even more true next quarter.”
Juerg Sturzenegger and Philipp Good were jointly appointed CEO at the beginning of the year. Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. Pius Fisch remarked, “Both CEOs want to maintain the culture of open communication and complete transparency that has been fostered at our company for many years now. At the same time, they are working on building the business, especially in terms of strengthening our research and portfolio management activities for our core product fields and intensifying our international focus. This appointment was clearly the right decision, and we have already seen the benefits in the first six months.”
During the first half of the year, Markus Becker joined the insitutional sales team in Germany with the goal of creating a stronger market presence there. “In addition to our native Switzerland, both Germany and Austria are core markets for us. Markus Becker’s recruitment was a conscious step taken to expand our business. We are also planning to hire more staff, thereby continuing to make Fisch Asset Management’s business increasingly international,” Herzog concluded.