A Specialist for Investment-Grade Bond Funds and security-oriented Absolute Return Funds

The bond manager Bantleon with locations in Germany and Switzerland is a specialist for investment-grade bond funds and security-oriented absolute return funds. Mutual funds as well as tailor-made solutions (single-investor funds and advisory client mandates) are available. In total, Bantleon and its 27 staff administer more than EUR 5 billion (CHF 6.1 billon) for customers in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Among the over 140 institutional clients, banks, savings banks, mortgage banks and building societies, first and re-insurance companies, pension funds and DAX industrials are included. Every seventh German savings bank and larger co-operative bank invests in »Bantleon bond funds« of the highest capital security and constant performance. Moreover, »Bantleon bond funds« are an investment base with well-known asset managers and fund of fund managers.

Savings and co-operative banks as the first business partners

Bantleon was founded by Jörg Bantleon in Hanover in December 1991 as an independent specialist for security-oriented bond portfolios. Consequently, the risk-averse German savings banks and co-operative banks were above all among the customers in the first nine years, which were advised in their bond choices and maturity timing concerning their own investments. Bantleon launched the first of its own mutual funds for institutional investors in the year 2000: Bantleon Strategie and Bantleon Return. Today, both of them have top ratings from leading fund rating agencies and count among the best bond funds in Germany. These flagship funds were complemented in the following years by nine other funds, which enable the investor to set an individual focus without departing from the path of capital security.

Since 2009 also offering funds for private investors

After Bantleon having managed mutual funds exclusively for institutional clients in the preceding nine years, two funds for marketing to private investors have been opened in July 2009: Bantleon Return and Bantleon Strategie. In February 2010, Bantleon Yield was added and in September 2010 Bantleon Opportunities S and Bantleon Opportunities L followed. While marketing to institutional investors is done directly, private investors are catered for by asset managers, independent financial advisers, third party distribution (agent pools) and fund of funds managers.

High-quality bonds in the Eurozone and Switzerland in focus

Asset management is focused on the Eurozone and Switzerland. Concerning this, the most important objective is to preserve the capital and to make secure returns. The typically cyclical destruction of capital, from which many investors are not spared, is thereby eliminated.

In order to enable the making of attractive absolute returns in years with low bond market performance, two funds can temporarily take long positions in Euro Stoxx and DAX future contracts. As bond funds with an active equity weighting, they are a managed alternative to static mixed funds and a convenient complement to direct investment in equities. Due to their stable and attractive performance, Bantleon Opportunities S and Bantleon Opportunities L are among the best absolute return funds with asset managing character.

In September 2011 the bond manager Bantleon expanded its absolute return strategies by the return components commodities and high-yield bonds: with the launch of the fund Bantleon Opportunities Global – a further development of the very successful absolute return funds Bantleon Opportunities S and Bantleon Opportunities L.

With the fund Bantleon Opportunities Global, Bantleon is not speculating for the shortage of single commodities. In particular, the fund management does not invest in the aliment sector but in commodity markets as a whole. The objective is to participate in increasing commodity prices by means of the economic cycle. This approach is based on the experience that - in phases of an economic upswing - the growing commodity demand leads to increasing prices.