The Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS) has partnered with Victor Sperandeo, known as Trader Vic, CEO of Alpha Financial Technologies LLC, to develop an innovative managed futures index designed to enable investors to benefit from volatile market conditions.

The Trader Vic Index (TVI) was developed by Alpha Financial Technologies and designed and calculated by RBS through an exclusive partnership. The TVI is a rules-based, long/short index comprised of a diversified basket of 24 futures contracts spread across three asset classes: physical commodities, global currencies and US interest rates.

"Working with such a seasoned money manager like Trader Vic reaffirms RBS' ability to tap innovative investment ideas for our clients. As with any investment objective, the strategy is to deliver consistent, robust returns and the TVI is clearly an option for investors in Asia," said Matthew Wong, Head of Equity Derivatives & PIP Sales, Asia.

The TVI has the ability to go long and short which means investors can take advantage of both rising and falling market trends. Back-testing has highlighted the index's ability to perform in all market conditions and has produced positive returns in greater than 98% of the time over a 12 month rolling period. This product is similar to managed futures products run by Commodity Trading Advisors however the TVI offers daily liquidity, transparency and vastly reduced fees. Based on the back-testing results since July 1990, TVI delivered a 13.1% annualised return, and outperformed MSCI World Index's 5.0% with a significantly lower volatility of 7.5%.

Victor Sperandeo, Chief Executive Officer, Alpha Financial Technologies, said: "For decades, professional investors have recognized the value of managed futures as a portfolio diversification tool, especially during periods of high market volatility. The Trader Vic Index provides both retail and institutional investor's access to a liquid, transparent managed futures strategy that incorporates my views on portfolio management. In RBS, we've found a strategic partner to deliver our latest investment strategy to clients across the globe and I couldn't be more pleased with the support their product teams have given to our partnership."

The TVI provides low to negative correlation to major asset classes, even during 2008 when most asset classes were highly correlated. This non-to-negatively correlated investment strategy, when compared to traditional assets like stocks and bonds, makes the TVI a cost-efficient asset allocation and portfolio diversification tool.

This innovative new index features some characteristics of RBS's innovative Dynamic Strategies. Dynamic strategies are rules based product offerings within RBS that normally contain built-in risk management and capital protection features, and rules which identify market regimes and cycles.

RBS is a global leader in index creation, with in excess of 200 award winning innovative thematic, emerging market and commodity indices. RBS frequently works with partners to deliver pioneering indices to our clients. RBS has a robust and scalable index platform, enabling us to produce indices that meet the highest industry standards.

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Press Enquiries:

Tan Ping Ping
Tel : +65 65188497/ +65 98458904
Email : ping.p.tan@rbs.com

Notes for Editor:

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group
The RBS group is a large international banking and financial services company. Headquartered in Edinburgh, the Group operates in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas and Asia, serving more than 40 million customers. The Group provides a wide range of products and services to personal, commercial and large corporate and institutional customers through its two principal subsidiaries, The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest, as well as through a number of other well known brands including, Citizens, Ulster Bank, Coutts, Direct Line and Churchill.

Alpha Financial Technologies LLC
Alpha Financial Technologies, LLC (AFT) is recognized for its unique algorithmic trading methodologies of which several have been licensed to Standard & Poor's. Developed by a team of quantitative analysts led by the company founder and professional trader Victor Sperandeo, AFT's trading methodologies are currently utilized by investment banks in more than 10 countries around the globe.

Victor Sperandeo
Better known as Trader Vic, Victor Sperandeo is a money manager and professional trader with over 40 years experience in the stock, bond, futures, commodities, and currency markets, Mr. Sperandeo has successfully invested through approximately seven bull and seven bear market cycles. He has traded independently for, among others, George Soros, Leon Cooperman and BT Alex Brown. He is recognized for his futures market trading expertise as a commodity trading advisor and has for some time implemented a number of successful strategies that are designed to profit from futures price trends.