Standard Chartered has announced the launch of its latest sub-fund under its variable capital company (VCC) structure, in partnership with Seviora Capital, a member of Seviora Group, a Temasek-owned asset management group based in Singapore.

The Signature Select Seviora Titans Absolute Return (STAR) fund provides exclusive access to a high-conviction portfolio of best-in-class hedge fund managers, which are less accessible to investors.

The current volatile market environment, accentuated by weakened bond diversification, higher equity-bond correlations and more frequent drawdowns, has resulted in investors looking for ways to navigate the challenges. Diversification strategies such as multi-strategy and relative value hedge funds have historically proven to deliver more resilient absolute returns across cycles.

A Fund of Hedge Funds (FoHF) structure provides broad strategy diversification, professional manager selection and access, making it a compelling allocation for investors seeking consistent absolute returns in a more uncertain macro environment.

In particular, investors of STAR can benefit from:

• Diversification given there is no over-concentration in any single manager or sub-strategy
• Immediate access to top quality, hard-to-access hedge funds: Selected marquee hedge funds are typically out-of-reach for individual accredited investors. Through STAR, investors can get privileged access to these limited capacity HFs
• Lower minimum investment: Investors are able to access marquee hedge funds at a lower minimum investment

STAR will be made available to high-net-worth clients from Standard Chartered’s Private Banking segment, with Accredited Investors and/or Professional Investors status, based in Singapore, Hong Kong and Jersey. The fund will be made available progressively to clients in other segments in the coming months.

Sumeet Bhambri, Global Head, Advisory and Managed Investments, Wealth Solutions, Standard Chartered, said:

“We are delighted to partner with Seviora Capital to bring this Fund of Hedge Funds to our high-net-worth clients who are looking for a diversification strategy amidst current volatile markets. This solution adds to the diversity of our VCC suite of funds, which offers products across all asset classes. As a leading international wealth manager, we are committed to continue innovating and partnering with the industry’s best players to enhance our wealth solutions and support our clients in their wealth journey.”

Leow Li-Vern, Managing Director, Investments, Seviora Capital, said:

“The ability of the STAR strategy to allocate to a portfolio of hedge funds with low correlation to public markets, can improve diversification of clients’ portfolios, which is vital in today’s volatile macro and market environment. This, in turn, can result in overall improvement of risk-adjusted returns. And we are pleased that Standard Chartered clients will be able to benefit from this.”

Standard Chartered set up its VCC in June 2024, aimed to harness synergies between the industry’s leading fund managers and the Bank’s team of global asset class specialists to deliver hard-to-access custom-curated investment strategies exclusively to the Bank’s clients. This is the Bank’s seventh sub-fund launched to-date, and its second fund launch in 2026.