Northern exposure: London manager wins Alaskan currency mandate

London-based active currency manager for institutional investors, Adrian Lee & Partners (AL&P), has been appointed by the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, a major US public fund with $62 billion in assets under management.

AL&P is to design and implement a currency programme for the Alaska Permanent Fund, aimed at reducing the risk of unmanaged foreign currency while adding value. The programme will initially apply to approximately $2 billion, or 20% of the total foreign currency exposure, of the fund’s non-US equity portfolio.

AL&P president and CIO, Adrian Lee, commented: “Our strategy is capable of balancing the competing objectives of managing the overall risk of the combined portfolio and managing the cash-flow risk directly attributable to the currency overlay portfolio.” Lee added that winning the mandate of a globally recognised fund after a competitive mandate process was a major achievement. Over the past year, AL&P’s actively managed assets have grown by 35% and now with the Alaska fund, its total assets under management are now $12.7 billion.