Lumyna - Ramius Merger Arbitrage UCITS

The Lumyna - Ramius Merger Arbitrage UCITS fund focusses predominately on transactions with definitive merger contracts and seeks to enhance returns by actively trading around positions. The fund generally gravitate towards the more complex deals where M&A spreads are elevated. The investment process utilises proprietary analytics evaluation research conviction, expected return, duration and downside risk to inform portfolio construction and optimise position sizing. The PM is cautiously optimist about the opportunity set for the strategy. Whilst the ongoing bear market has put downward pressure on valuations (hence requiring smaller sizing due to lower ‘floors’) and high interest rates/equity market volatility has significantly reduced arbitrageurs’ appetite for longer term situations (>2 months), deal spreads remain wide by historical standards and managers continue to be well compensated for taking those risks. Moreover, the argument that there is a positive correlation between the M&A cycle and merger arb performance is refused by the manager, with empirical data showing a zero R-squared between the two.