Investment firms ipac and Pengana have awarded Trust Company of the West (TCW) mandates in United States mortgage-backed securities (MBS).
Ipac has invested in Societe Generale Asset Management's (SGAM) US-based subsidiary's opportunistic MBS strategy, while Pengana has adopted a total return MBS strategy that invests in a broad range of MBS.
The investment firm was keen to expand the exposure of the MBS asset class within the local institutional investment community, SGAM/TCW Asset Management local managing director Phil Filippelis said.
"The MBS market continues to trade inefficiently, with prices depending more upon technical consideration such as liquidity and credit ratings and less upon the fundamental analysis of securities and their underlying loan characteristics," Filippelis said.
"This creates unique buying opportunities for mis-priced and fundamentally undervalued securities."
TCW manages more than $70 billion in MBS assets.
