Brennan Basnicki
Launching Auspice Commodity Evolution: An ...

For over two decades the Auspice team has pioneered innovative commodity solutions. Today we’re proud to share the launch of Auspice Commodity Evolution (ACE) – an ESG-aligned tactical commodity strategy that opportunistically trades commodity evolution and energy transition markets.

ACE is a next step in the evolution of Auspice – a strategy designed to provide targeted, ESG-aligned inflation protection with transparency, reliability, and capital efficiency. ACE was developed in partnership with the Concordia University Inter-Generational Fund (CUiF), a UN-PRI signatory and leader in Responsible Investing, and the Pension Plan for the Employees of Concordia University (PPECU). Built on the proven foundation of our largest strategy, Auspice Broad Commodity (ABC), ACE is the first of its kind in the energy transition category – historically dominated by illiquid private investments in real asset portfolios.

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Brennan Basnicki
Commodity Futures and ESG

To date there has been little discussion about commodity futures within ESG frameworks - neither the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) nor the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UNPRI) provides comprehensive guidance on commodity futures. We have researched this and will be sharing a comprehensive white paper “Commodity Investing in the Age of ESG and Inflation”. This month’s blog summarizes one of the white paper’s core considerations, that futures offer exposure to commodities with zero environmental impact.

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A Rising Tide - Oct 2015

Last month, we had suggested that the market winds were beginning to strengthen and that we were poised to take advantage of them if they became more sustained, regardless of their direction.

That shift did begin to occur, enabling us to deliver a modest, positive gain in a month that was sharply negative for many asset classes (including equities) and capitalize on several short-term, negative market movements (see charts).

This uneasy market juncture provides a superb opportunity to assess the fitness of the managers that you have added to your crew. It is easy to lay claim to genius when tailwinds are blowing (as it has in the last several years), but does the same hold true during market turbulence? Did the managers you chose deliver the diversification benefits that you were expecting, or did their performance echo that of the broader market? How did they perform in 2014? Or in 2008?

Carl Icahn, David Stockman, James Grant and scores of others are expressing growing concerns about developing headwinds. If they are right, be sure that you have a crew with proven experience winning in those environments.

After all, a rising tide floats all boats, but are you prepared if the tide goes out?

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Black Swans & Tall Risk Protections

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he only constant in the world is change and that phenomenon is not slowing down any time soon. The world is full of more unknown than known variables, which makes preparing for certain events or occurrences very difficult. How can you know what you do not know? 

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Would You Get On A Plane With No Computer System?

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To err is human. We aren’t always logical and we make mistakes (or gains) based on emotional reactions. Sometimes we get lucky and other times we lose. Some hedge funds get a bad rap for trading under the systematic model or ‘black box’. But is it all that bad?