The Russell Investments [profile] team is preparing to liquidate a $451.4-million mutual fund that is nearly four years old.

Lance Babbit Russell Investments Senior Portfolio Manager

Russell confirms in a filing with the SEC that by July 26 the Seattle-based manager of managers will shut down the Russell Multi-Strategy Alternative Fund. The fund is powered by eight subadvisors: AQR Capital Management; Brigade Capital Management; Cambridge Strategy; DCI; Omega Advisors; Passport Capital; Pimco; and TCW.

A spokesperson for Russell offered the following statement on the impending liquidation:

Russell Investments has found that the fast pace of evolution in total portfolio, multi-asset solutions focused on specific client investment outcomes has led to a need for greater clarity in objectives of the underlying building blocks. This has been the case broadly, but specifically in the area of liquid alternative investment strategies where these strategies exhibit different investment attributes based on different market conditions. Therefore, we have decided to remove the Russell Multi-Strategy Alternative Fund from our multi-asset portfolios and the fund’s Board has determined to liquidate the fund.

The spokesperson also added some remarks about liquid alternatives in general:

Russell Investments remains strongly committed to our broad suite of alternative strategies such as commodities, infrastructure, real estate securities, non-traditional fixed income strategies and option strategies. Russell Investments remains confident that exposure to liquid alternative strategies offers long-term benefits to well-diversified investment portfolios. We continue to actively explore other potential avenues for bringing these kinds of liquid alternatives strategies to investors’ portfolios, as we believe these strategies present viable and important investment opportunities for outcome-oriented portfolios.

The fund first launched in August 2012 and is PMed by Lance Babbit, a senior PM at Russell who is based in New York City. 

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