OREANDA-NEWS. March 14, 2011. Troika Dialog Asset Management became the first management company in the Russian market for mutual investment funds which conducted a trade using instruments of FORTS.  On March 9, 2011 within the framework of a strategy for managing its portfolio Troika Dialog – Dobrynya Nikitich1, the open-ended mutual investment fund of shares, opened a position in RTS Index futures with settlement in June 2011. The aim of the trade was to hedge the fund against market risks.

"The significance of the event is not in this particular trade, but in the fact that mutual investment funds as large investors in the stock market have taken the opportunity to trade in derivatives", said Anton Rakhmanov, Managing Director at Troika Dialog Asset Management, "Such an opportunity makes investment strategies more flexible and diversified. Including hedging instruments into a fund portfolios is especially important in the circumstances of high volatility levels on Russian markets. Troika Dialog has become a pioneer in implementing such strategies and currently has gained an advantage over competitors". 

"Using derivatives for managing assets of mutual investment funds provides asset management companies with new trading and marketing opportunities", comments Evgeny Serdyukov, Director of the Futures & Options Market at OJSC RTS, "First of all, new strategies ensuring improved efficiency of portfolio management are available.  Secondly, a management company obtains the possibility to broaden products range. And in the third place is attracting new clients.  As a result, derivatives have become an important instrument in attracting new and holding current clients, thanks to increasing value of present products".

Trading in the instruments of the derivatives market was permitted on July 1, 2010. However, the market infrastructure was not in place then. Troika Dialog Asset Management became the first company which has used this new facility.  Before it the company had to amend the investment declarations of the mutual investment funds as well as adapt systems of risks control and interaction with the specialized depository.