Federated Hermes has launched a version of its Global Trade Finance Fund for Australian wholesale investors seeking income and liquidity.

The US investment manager said the fund is a feeder vehicle investing in an Australian dollar-denominated share class of the Federated Hermes Project and Trade Finance Master Fund.

Positioned between public and private markets, trade finance has traditionally been the domain of large international banks. Federated Hermes said it gives investors access to the alternative asset class by co-investing with banks to provide short-term loans used to finance the physical flow of essential goods worldwide. These goods are used as the primary source of collateral for the loans.

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“This fund launch marks the first step in rolling out a broader investment strategy for wholesale investors in Australia,” said Liz White, associate director of business development, Australia. “While Federated Hermes is best known locally as a strategic adviser and provider to institutional investors, we are now drawing on our wealth management heritage in the US and Europe to expand into the wholesale segment with a tailored product that has historically been limited to institutional-grade investors.”

The fund is managed by Chris McGinley, head of trade finance, supported by portfolio managers Maarten Offeringa and Kazaur Rahman.

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“The defensive qualities of trade finance during periods of public market turbulence are well recognised by our institutional clients, who value its diversification benefits,” McGinley said. “The Federated Hermes Trade Finance strategy, now accessible to a broader range of investors in Australia, invests across a wide range of loan types, sectors and regions, with the aim of delivering risk-adjusted returns.”

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