This week, Toronto-based alternative investment manager Next Edge Capital, formerly a subsidiary of Man Group Plc, announced that it is launching a strategic metals and commodities fund. The fund, which is to be structured in Canada as an alternative mutual fund, will be sub-advised by Delbrook Capital Partners, a Vancouver-based investment firm that solely targets alternative strategies in the global materials sector.
The Next Edge Strategic Metals and Commodities Fund, which is a long-duration, thematic long-short fund, will invest opportunistically in equity securities of global companies involved in the commodity and natural resource industries, as well as companies positioned to benefit from rapid technological innovation, specifically in the fields of materials, energy and clean tech/industrials. The net-long fund will hold anywhere to 25-40 long positions, and 3-5 short positions,
Next Edge Capital says it believes that long-term underinvestment in the sector has deeply impacted the supply of select commodities, which along with the demand drivers of infrastructure spending, re-opening of economies, and the longer-term move towards clean energy, has created a very compelling investment opportunity.
“We are pleased to have partnered with Delbrook Capital to launch this mandate together,” Next Edge President Rob Anton said in announcing the fund’s launch. “We believe that exposure to the resource sector is best suited via an active and opportunistic approach, very suited to the Delbrook team, and evidenced by how they have been able to navigate the past decade. Delbrook brings rare expertise in global mining to factor in on their investment decisions and is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the many opportunities presented by the transition to clean, sustainable energy sources and a lower carbon world. It is rare to see an investment thesis so strong warranting exposure to the sector at this time.”
“We are excited to work with the team at Next Edge Capital to bring a liquid alternative strategy to the Canadian marketplace,” said Delbrook Founder and Portfolio Manager Matthew Zabloski, a former Fidelity Portfolio Manager who left the firm to launch Delbrook in 2010. “Whether it be electrification, increasing signs of inflation or unprecedented global monetary policies, we see multiple catalysts for select commodities to outperform over the next decade. This fund’s investment strategy is intended to provide investors with exposure to these themes in a long/short format.”
