Swiss, Brazilian Asset Managers Launch Joint Corporate Credit Fund

(Bloomberg) — Southtree Capital, a newly formed Brazilian asset-management firm, and de Pury Pictet Turrettini & Cie, one of Switzerland’s biggest independent asset and wealth managers, are launching a Brazilian corporate credit fund together.

The joint venture’s new fund, called Jaguar, is based in Luxembourg and represents the beginning of a partnership that aims to boost Southtree’s exposure to European clients, according to Guilherme Jahic, founding partner and head of fixed income at the Sao Paulo-based asset-management firm. 

“The fit was perfect, because like us they have a family-office DNA and already have the platform for Luxembourg’s funds,” Jahic said in an interview.

Originally based in the Cayman Islands, Centuria Jaguar Fund was created in 2019 with a strategy of active investment in Brazilian US dollar corporate bonds. The new fund in Luxembourg, which is the main jurisdiction for funds in Europe, mirrors the strategy of the original one, which has $140 million in assets and posted a return of 9.2% over the past year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

“Jaguar will be the first fixed-income fund of our house, starting a relationship with Southtree that we aim to develop further to help PPT expand its base of Brazilian clients and products,” Gustavo Baron, a senior investment manager who joined PPT in Geneva last year, said in an interview. 

With more than $6 billion in wealth and assets under management, PPT will be Jaguar’s Luxembourg manager, while Southtree will be the adviser. In Europe, Jaguar will be sold to institutional investors as well as private-banking and retail clients, including Brazilians investing abroad. With a long-only approach, Jaguar isn’t allowed to use leverage.

“We used to talk to European institutional investors and they always asked us to launch Jaguar in Europe because it would be more suitable for clients from the region,” said Fernando Carvalho, Southtree’s founding partner and chief investment officer.

Southtree, founded in 2023, is a spinoff of the Brazilian family office Centuria Investimentos Ltda., which manages funds for one branch of the Zogbi and Derani families. Both families, as well as the company’s managing partners, have a stake in Southtree. The asset manager’s plan is to launch other funds open to investors, starting with one investing in Brazil’s local credit markets, which are booming.

Total corporate bond issuance in Brazil’s local market surged 82% this year from the same period in 2023, to 172.7 billion reais ($32 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. 

“Brazil is a big economy and has a lot of corporate bonds issuers, so it has the depth needed for diversification and historically attracts higher interest than other nations,” Carvalho said. 

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