Lazard Asset Management Limited (LAML) has launched a new commodities fund.
The Lazard Global Commodities fund is available to clients across the UK, Europe and Asia.
It seeks to generate strong relative returns in excess of the Bloomberg Commodity Total Return index while delivering less volatility over a full market cycle.
Tony Maddock, head of third party distribution at Lazard, said: “We are launching this fund in response to investor demand.
“With increased concerns about duration risk and rising inflationary pressures, it is important for our clients to have the right commodities exposure within their portfolios.”
The fund is managed by the Lazard commodities team, which is led by portfolio manager and analyst Terence Brennan.
The team members each have between 20 and 28 years of investment experience on similar strategies.
Scott Gallacher, chartered financial planner at Leicester-based Rowley Turton, said: "It is always good to have a range of alternative funds available so new funds are always welcome.
"However, whilst it might be attractive to some higher risk investors, or as a small part of a balanced portfolio, funds of this type would generally be considered too high risk or niche for most investors."
Advisers recently revealed their clients have less than 10 per cent of their portfolios exposed to commodities.
But a significant percentage also had clients with no exposure to this asset class at all, according to the latest FTAdviser Talking Point poll.
When asked how much exposure to commodities, on average, their clients had, 50 per cent of advisers polled said less than 10 per cent, while 36 per cent of advisers voted their clients had none at all.
aamina.zafar@ft.com
