Fischer Francis Trees & Watts Boosts Currency Assets

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - Oct 3, 2016) - Fischer Francis Trees & Watts (FFTW), a global investment management firm providing active, fixed income capabilities to institutional investors, announced strong inflows of over $2 billion in currency mandates since the start of the year¹ as a result of continued currency volatility and central bank monetary policy intervention. 

US public funds Fire & Police Pension Association of Colorado (FPPA) and Illinois Teachers Retirement System (TRS Illinois) have selected FFTW to help manage the unintended currency risk resulting from their global and international equity portfolios. FFTW was hired by FPPA to manage an active currency hedging mandate up to $750 million. TRS Illinois appointed FFTW to manage a $500 million currency alpha mandate to generate alpha related to the currency portion of their non-US equities assets. 

As a result of the growth in assets, FFTW has expanded its team with the appointment of Daniel Brehon to the role of Currency Strategist and Quantitative FX Researcher. Daniel will continue to develop and manage quantitative models, as well as contribute to overall currency strategy. He was previously a Director of FX Strategy at Deutsche Bank. 

Adnan Akant, Head of Currencies at FFTW, commented on the growth in assets and team addition, stating, "US investors have been impacted by currency volatility since 2014 when the US dollar began to strengthen considerably against most major currencies. Many of these portfolios have faced, and will continue to face, significant unintended currency risk. As a result, investors have struggled with the conundrum of how much of their portfolio to hedge and how to manage that hedge. Our blend of discretionary and systematic processes combined with an emphasis on capital preservation, uniquely positions us to manage currency."

He added, "Our deep relationships with central banks resulting from our management of their investment portfolios and the fact that a number of my colleagues are former central bankers helps in our analysis of monetary policy. We expect policy intervention to continue as inflation and growth are low worldwide and central banks will actively try to target higher levels. It may take several years for global growth, inflation, interest rates and currency misalignments to normalize, during which time official policy intervention will dominate currency markets."

About Fischer Francis Trees & Watts
Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, Inc. (FFTW) is a global investment management firm providing active, fixed income capabilities to institutional investors. FFTW manages single and multi-currency mandates across global, US and emerging markets, and also provides select equities capabilities under the BNP Paribas Investment Partners brand. We manage our clients' assets with a strong focus on providing strategies where we have deep and proven expertise, supported by specialized investment teams. As of June 30, 2016, FFTW had $36.8 billion of assets under management on behalf of clients around the world. FFTW is fully owned by BNP Paribas Group. For more information, please see www.fftw.com.

About BNP Paribas Investment Partners
BNP Paribas Investment Partners is the BNP Paribas Group's asset management specialist. BNP Paribas Investment Partners offers the full range of asset management services to both institutional and private investors around the world. BNP Paribas Investment Partners has more than 3,000 employees in 35 countries, including more than 600 investment professionals, and as of June 30, 2016 manages and advises assets totaling $589 billion. For more information, please see www.bnpparibas-ip.com.

This document is not to be construed as investment advice or an offer to buy or sell a financial instrument. The analyses and opinions contained herein are those of FFTW, and are based upon information obtained by FFTW from sources which are believed to be reliable. The views expressed in this document may change at any time. Information is provided as of the date indicated and FFTW assumes no duty to update such information. There is no guarantee, either express or implied, that any investment strategy works under all market conditions. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Readers should independently evaluate the information presented and reliance upon such information is at their sole discretion. FFTW is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.

¹ Source: Fischer Francis Trees & Watts, Inc., total inflows of $2.064 billion for period from January 1 to September 15, 2016.