Simmons & Simmons, led by partners Melody Yang (on the fund documents side) and Jason Valoti (on the trading documents side), has recently advised Man Group on the launch of the first onshore systematic trend following fund managed by a foreign-invested fund management company in China.

The fund is a quantitative systematic trend following fund, and its strategy leverages on Man AHL’s 30 years of quantitative investing expertise to serve the needs of qualified investors in China.

The launch of the fund also makes Man Group the first foreign firm to run a quantitative investment fund in the country. The fund will be managed by Man Group’s subsidiary, Man Investment Management (Shanghai) Co., Ltd, a Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprise (WFOE) incorporated in Shanghai. In September 2017, Man Group became one of the first global investment firms to be granted a license to act as a private securities investment fund manager, also known as a PFM, by the Asset Management Association of China.

“We are very pleased to be the law firm working with Man Group to navigate through the legal and regulatory hurdles for such a ground-breaking fund. China’s asset management sector as well as its regulatory framework is relatively new, so it is particularly exciting to be able to establish market precedents together with Man,” says Beijing-based partner, Melody Yang.

“Simmons & Simmons was delighted to work with Man Group on the launch of their quantitative investment fund in China and the establishment of the related futures trading arrangements. All transaction parties worked collaboratively to develop what is expected to evolve into market standard documentation in China’s asset management sector,” says Singapore-based partner, Jason Valoti.

Since August 2017, the team led by paartners Melody Yang and Jason Valoti have been advising Man Group on this landmark launch.  Other members of the core team include, Gaven Cheong (Hong Kong), Esther Lee (Hong Kong), Alan Tang (Beijing), Desiree Ho (Beijing), Huiwen Tian (Beijing) and Donia Chu (Hong Kong).