Investment Strategy
Prof. Dr. Bernd Meyer and Ulrich Urbahn are responsible for the Berenberg Variato, a flexible multi-asset fund focused on high potential individual ideas. Long term positions in niche capital market segments are supplemented by thematic investments and tactical opportunities. Investments are made across all asset classes and regions and are deliberately benchmark-agnostic. This flexible concept is thus not tied to any predefined asset weights or asset classes. The fund’s goal is to generate sustainable and attractive returns with reduced participation in strong drawdowns while tolerating short to medium-term fluctuations in value. With multi-level risk management it targets an above-average risk/return ratio.
- Flexible-opportunistic multi-asset concept with focus on capital market niches, megatrends and tactical ideas
- The fund is not managed with regards to a market benchmark.
- Target return min. 4% p.a. after costs over a medium-term period of five years
- Dynamic und flexible allocation based on the current market environment
- The investment universe comprises individual securities, funds, ETFs and derivatives
Learn more about our Berenberg Multi Asset investment philosophy
Indexed performance
Performance in 12 month
Currencies
Asset classes
Top Holdings
Equities - Sectors
Equities - Countries
Bonds - Sectors
Bonds - Countries
Monthly market comment
In December, the setbacks in the equity indices continued for the time being. The more transferable omicron variant as well as the more restrictive US central bank paired with very high inflation figures created a temporarily persistent risk-off environment. In this environment, cyclical equities and commodities lost the most. Our positioning for a year-end rally, which eventually came, therefore led to increased volatility. In 2022, we expect bond yields to rise further due to tighter monetary policy. We are cautiously optimistic about equities. The lack of alternatives and rising corporate profits should provide support, but valuations are unlikely to rise further, especially in the US, so we see moderate upside potential.
Portfolio Management
Prof. Dr. Bernd Meyer has been Chief Investment Strategist at Berenberg Wealth and Asset Management since October 2017, where he is responsible for discretionary multi-asset strategies and wealth management mandates. Prof. Dr. Meyer was initially Head of European Equity Strategy at Deutsche Bank in Frankfurt and London and, from 2010, Head of Global Cross Asset Strategy Research at Commerzbank. In this role Prof. Dr. Meyer has received several awards. In the renowned Extel Survey from 2013 to 2017, he and his team ranked among the top three multi-asset research teams worldwide. Prof. Dr. Meyer is DVFA Investment Analyst, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and guest lecturer for "Empirical Research in Finance" at the University of Trier. He has published numerous articles and two books and received three scientific awards.
Ulrich Urbahn joined Berenberg in October 2017 and is portfolio manager of the flexible multi-asset fund Berenberg Variato. In addition to generating investment ideas, his focus is on capital market communication. After completing his double degree in economics and mathematics at the University of Heidelberg, Urbahn gained two years of market experience at Commerzbank as a quantitative portfolio analyst before becoming a cross asset strategist in 2010, where he was responsible in particular for the asset classes equities, REITs and commodities and covered institutional clients in Germany and abroad for more than seven years. Urbahn is a CFA charterholder and belonged from 2013 to 2017 to the top three multi-asset research teams worldwide, according to the renowned Extel survey.
Karsten Schneider ist seit 2017 bei Berenberg im Team Multi Asset Strategy & Research tätig und ist Portfolio Manager des flexiblen Multi-Asset-Fonds Berenberg Variato. Er führt Investment-Analysen durch, generiert Investmentideen und wirkt an der Kapitalmarktpublikationen mit. Nach seinem Bachelorstudium in Wirtschaftswissenschaften an der Universität Konstanz arbeitete Karsten Schneider bei Capco in der Banken- und Versicherungsberatung. Anschließend arbeitete er zwei Jahre bei der Deutschen Bank im Bereich GTO Risk and Finance als Business Analyst und absolvierte seinen Master in Betriebswirtschaftslehre an der Goethe Universität Frankfurt. Seit 2021 ist er CFA-Charterholder.
