September 23, 2021

PM Amar Pandya & the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund

Featuring: Amar Pandya, Geoff Scott

In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund.

Subtitle: Leveraging Pender’s unique expertise in identifying and analyzing M&A catalysts

In this episode Geoff Scott, Senior Vice President, Investments, chats with Amar Pandya, Portfolio Manager of the Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund. Together they will introduce the Fund and dive into the investing strategies behind the Fund, the opportunities that Amar sees on the horizon and the overall Fund positioning. They also explore the risk management and return strategies for the Fund, in particular Pender’s unique expertise and track record in identifying and analyzing M&A catalysts. Amar closes the podcast with a book recommendation.

Key Takeaways

[01:10]	Amar talks about his investing experience.
[1:40]	He explains the reasoning behind the launch of this Fund, more about merger arbitrage and the mechanics of an investment in a legally binding merger deal.
[5:35]	Amar discusses the current M&A environment and his assessment of the heightened M&A activity.
[9:00]	Geoff asks Amar about SPAC’s and the opportunities they present.
[10:48]	Amar explains Fund positioning and the potential benefits available to clients who may add it to their portfolios.
[11:20]	How does merger arbitrage compare to traditional fixed income investments?
[12:47]	Amar explains his process for identifying attractive merger arbitrage opportunities and how he manages risk in the portfolio.
[16:30]	How is the portfolio constructed and how is the risk from potential deal breaking events mitigated?
[18:58]	Amar explains the importance of collaborating with other members of the Pender investment team.
[21:22]	Is the portfolio focused on small/mid-cap investments and how has Pender utilized merger arbitrage investment strategies in the past?
[23:28]	Amar provides an example of leveraging the investments teams research and discusses what clients should expect from this strategy.
[25:53]	Amar provides a book recommendation.