Advisors like alternatives, they really like them.

Simple Alternatives [profile] reported that its AUM for the first half of 2013 reached $85.3 million, representing growth of 25 percent year-to-date.

The shop runs the S1 Fund (SONEX), which is a multi-manager, long/short equity mutual fund.

“Institutional and retail investors have come to embrace ‘liquid alternatives’ recognizing the important role in terms of diversification, liquidity, and other desirable characteristics the strategies can serve in a portfolio,” stated James Dilworth, Simple Alternatives founder and chief executive. “Growth in liquid alternatives has been driven in a large part by institutional consultants and financial advisors who typically use hedge funds as part of an overall portfolio allocation strategy.

Dilworth further stated that “there is a growing preference for a mutual fund structure, over limited partnerships, as the vehicle for access. These are typically allocators that are already investing in hedge funds, have dedicated allocations to hedge funds, and have a growing preference to use the more liquid structure to allocate to the same exception managers.”

Here is the press release:

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Company Press Release

Simple Alternatives Reports AUM Increase As Investors Shift to Alternative Mutual Funds

RIDGEFIELD, CT – July 30, 2013 – Simple Alternatives, LLC, a leading alternative mutual fund company, focused on providing investors better access to hedge fund managers, announced today the firm’s assets under management rose by twenty five percent in first half of 2013. The S1 Fund (SONEX) is a multi-manager, long/short equity mutual fund.

“Institutional and retail investors have come to embrace ‘liquid alternatives’ recognizing the important role in terms of diversification, liquidity, and other desirable characteristics the strategies can serve in a portfolio,” said James K. Dilworth, Simple Alternatives Founder and CEO. “Growth in liquid alternatives has been driven in a large part by institutional consultants and financial advisors who typically use hedge funds as part of an overall portfolio allocation strategy.

“There is a growing preference for a mutual fund structure, over limited partnerships, as the vehicle for access,” continued Dilworth. “These are typically allocators that are already investing in hedge funds, have dedicated allocations to hedge funds, and have a growing preference to use the more liquid structure to allocate to the same exception managers.”

Nearly three-quarters of financial advisors currently utilize alternative strategies, and an equal percentage have increased their usage over the past year, according to a recent study by Financial Advisor. (1)  Total assets in U.S. alternative mutual funds are approximately $550 billion. (2)

“With a low historical correlation to US bonds and equities, alternative strategies such as long/short equity are gaining traction with investors that are concerned about current market valuations, and the outlook for  key asset classes, in a post-Bernanke investment environment,” concluded Dilworth. 

The S1 Fund has a since inception standard deviation of 4.37%, and average beta of 0.31 compared to the S&P 500 index, as of June 30, 2013. (3)

Through a disciplined investment process that focuses on strategy allocation, manager selection and risk management, the S1 Fund seeks to grow capital regardless of market direction.  Financial Advisers use alternative strategies like S1 Fund in a portfolio to add diversification and potential downside protection during market volatility.

About Simple Alternatives, LLC

Simple Alternatives is an investment manager focused on liquid alternative strategies. The company is 100% independent and employee owned.  Simple Alternatives’ S1 Fund (SONEX) is a multi-manager alternative mutual fund that utilizes a portfolio of skilled (fundamentally-based) long/short equity managers each of whom brings a unique edge to the portfolio.  The S1 Fund (the “Fund”) seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute (positive) returns and low correlation to traditional financial market indices such as the S&P 500® Index.  Structured as a mutual fund, the S1 Fund offers direct access to long/short strategies to a wide range of investors, with the benefits of daily liquidity, high transparency and low investment minimums.

For more information on Simple Alternatives, LLC and the S1 Fund please visit www.simplealternatives.com

 

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