Highland Funds, managed by Highland Capital Management (Highland), a Texas-based investment management firm, has launched All Cap Equity Value Fund which seeks the long-term growth of capital and income through a deep value approach.
Highland will be the investment adviser for the fund and JS Asset Management will serve as the sub-adviser. The fund will be managed by John Schneider, founder of JS Asset Management, who brings 24 years of experience employing a value-oriented investment strategy.
Prior to JS Asset Management, Mr Schneider spent six years at PIMCO where he managed approximately $10bn of assets including the PIMCO Value Fund and the PIMCO Renaissance Fund.
The fund seeks to generate alpha by investing in approximately 30 to 50 holdings across select industries. The fund seeks to invest in companies that possess identifiable catalysts which are expected to drive earnings or price appreciation over an 18 to 24 month time horizon. Such catalysts may include improvements in supply and demand outlooks, hidden or undervalued assets, cost cutting and growth initiatives, management changes, insider ownership, or changes to industry dynamics.
Joe Dougherty, partner and head of retail products at Highland, said: “Mr Schneider is an experienced asset manager, with a solid performance record, who is a pioneer in the deep value approach to equity investing. The All Cap Equity Value Fund offers Highland’s investors access to a niche investment style that we believe will offer attractive return opportunities versus the market.”
John Schneider, portfolio manager of the Highland All Cap Equity Value Fund, said: “Deep value companies are at the center of our economic recovery. This past recession significantly depressed earnings for many companies creating deep value opportunities for investors across a number of sectors. We will focus our portfolio on the best ideas, identifying companies with attractive price to book ratios, price to recovery earnings ratios, and near term catalysts for growth. Our goal is not to replicate value indexes, but outperform them over time.”