The company, which is the institutional asset management arm of the Swiss banking group Syz & Co, said the office will promote the company’s various strategies, which are available through segregated mandates or the OYSTER and SYZ AM funds range, in the United Kingdom.
It comes after the launch of the OYSTER Continental European Selection Fund, which is specifically aimed at the UK market, as well as several hirings in the region.
The Edinburgh office will be managed by Claire Manson, a member of the European equity team and manager of the OYSTER European Mid & Small Cap fund, and Derek Borthwick, who joined the group in April this year as business development director for Scotland, the North of England, and Northern Ireland.
The company said the UK was one of its “priority growth markets”, adding that “Edinburgh is a recognised centre for asset management and constitutes an essential step for any long-lasting development in the United Kingdom”.
“Scotland has a genuine equity investment culture and we have identified a clear interest for active strategies like the ones offered by our investment teams,” said Xavier Guillon, chief executive of OYSTER funds. “A local presence, combining an asset management capacity and a sales force, is an additional asset.”
Syz Asset Management provides traditional and alternative investment solutions to institutional investors such as pension funds, insurance companies, and mutual funds.
In June, Syz & Co launched the OYSTER Flexible Credit Fund with the aim of providing an absolute return through a credit strategy combining European corporate bonds and the flexible hedging of market exposure.
