Fidante forges new ‘affiliate’ deal with global long/short manager

Challenger Group’s funds management subsidiary, Fidante, has secured its 20th affiliate investment manager partnership, this time with global long/short manager, System Capital.

Established in 2022 by Portfolio Manager, Lev Margolin, System Capital is set to reap the benefits of a substantial minority equity stake taken by Fidante, along with an agreement to exclusively distribute its System Capital Long/Short Fund.

System Capital is the latest manager to join the fold at Fidante, alongside 19 others with investment expertise across Australian equities, global equities, fixed income, alternative strategies and sustainable investing.

“We are excited to be partnering with System Capital,” Victor Rodriguez, Chief Executive, Funds Management at Challenger, said.

“We believe Lev Margolin’s expertise in long-short investing, combined with the extensive experience of the System Capital team, presents a unique opportunity for Australian investors looking to take advantage of under and overvalued global stocks.”

“At Fidante, we strongly believe in the value of active management and the distinct advantages specialist, independent managers offer in an increasingly competitive market. We are committed to ensuring investors have access to best in class, active fund managers, across
a wide and diverse range of products and capabilities.”

The System Capital Long/Short Fund offers consistent returns and downside protection for investors backed by fundamental research to identify opportunities of pricing misalignments between the valuation of a business and its business quality. The fund is also well positioned to adjust its exposure to protect against market volatility. As of December 2024, the fund has returned 24.3 per cent per annum (before fees) since its inception in October 2022.

“Our Fund is not constructed with a specific investment thematic or qualitative overlay. Rather, we look to take advantage of structural winners and losers within specific industries to deliver absolute returns,” Margolin said.

“We see our partnership with Fidante as a natural evolution of our business. It brings a new and differentiated investment strategy to the Fidante stable and allows us to grow our investor base.

“Our business remains majority owned by our team, and we will continue to reinvest in the growth of the business.”