Global financial conglomerate Citi has seeded a new fund developed by international equities boutique Five Oceans Asset Management (Five Oceans AM) with a $US50 million mandate, I&T News understands.

It is understood that the new vehicle, named the Five Oceans Global Fund, is domiciled outside Australia and aims to attract mandates from offshore institutional investors. Launched in mid-January, it mirrors the investment philosophy, style and process of the Five Oceans World Fund, which can be accessed by Australian institutional and retail investors. The long-biased, high-conviction manager builds portfolios through a fundamental bottom-up selection of stocks from global markets. It applies valuation analyses and contrarian cross-checks, and solicits research from experts outside the financial industry. In this, it considers the competitive strengths of companies, the business environments in which they operate and sustainability factors are critical to their success, and uses research from Innovest Strategic Value Advisors regarding environmental, social and strategic governance performance. The World Fund holds approximately 50 stocks. Five Oceans AM was unavailable for comment before I&T News reached deadline yesterday.