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OSSIA IM
OSSIA IM was established by Oliver Bilal in Zurich in 2018, following his tenure at RMF Investment Group and Man Group — two of Switzerland's deepest...
OSSIA IM
OSSIA IM was established by Oliver Bilal in Zurich in 2018, following his tenure at RMF Investment Group and Man Group — two of Switzerland's deepest institutional alternative platforms. The founding team brought an explicit focus on packaging liquid macro and volatility expertise into regulated UCITS and Swiss-domiciled fund vehicles for pension funds, insurers, and family offices that lack internal capacity to underwrite standalone hedge fund risk. The firm's authorization by FINMA arrived in mid-2019. Strategy spans a multi-asset framework built around four return engines: global macro, equity volatility, managed futures, and tail-risk hedging, all executed through exchange-traded and OTC-cleared instruments. OSSIA IM runs concentrated sub-portfolios managed by named traders — a structure resembling internally seeded hedge fund pods more than a traditional Swiss asset-gatherer. Deployment is entirely in liquid markets, with regional exposure weighted toward G10 rates, US and European equity index options, and Asian commodity futures. The firm has disclosed allocations to S&P 500 variance swaps, EUR/USD options, and Japanese government bond futures as representative positioning. Team size has remained deliberately compact, estimated at fewer than 15 professionals operating from Zurich. In June 2023, OSSIA IM promoted Marc Frauenfelder to COO alongside his existing risk oversight role, formalizing an operational structure built around trader autonomy with centralized risk management (per Citywire, June 2023). No external growth capital or acquired distribution platforms have been disclosed. The firm's known investor base is exclusively Swiss institutional — including allocations from at least one cantonal pension fund, though specific LPs remain confidential — and the vehicle set is structured to meet Swiss occupational pension fund regulations (BVV 2) and EU UCITS standards. Structural differentiation derives from the firm's principal-owned, trader-led architecture embedded inside a regulated Swiss asset manager. Unlike most macro boutiques that avoid institutional infrastructure, OSSIA IM absorbed the compliance and governance overhead of FINMA authorization early in its lifecycle — a deliberate trade-off that locks in an institutional-only client base and precludes the retail or private-banking distribution channels that typically drive Swiss hedge fund distribution.
General information
Firm type
Asset Manager
Year founded
2018
AUM
Less than $500M (Altss estimate)
Location
Region
Europe
Country
Switzerland
City
Zurich
Corporate office
Zurich, Switzerland
Principals
Oliver Bilal
Founder & CEO
Marc Frauenfelder
COO & Head of Risk
Sector focus
Frequently asked questions
Who runs investment decisions at OSSIA IM?
Oliver Bilal, the founder and CEO, leads investment direction and likely retains authority over risk budgets alongside the named portfolio managers running individual strategy sleeves. Marc Frauenfelder, COO and Head of Risk, oversees risk management and portfolio construction constraints. The firm's compact size implies that senior investment professionals operate with direct trade execution authority, not committee-bound approvals.
What investment strategies does OSSIA IM run?
The firm deploys four primary return engines: global macro, equity volatility, managed futures, and tail-risk hedging. Instruments are limited to exchange-traded futures, FX forwards, and listed or OTC-cleared equity options. The multi-asset framework is benchmark-agnostic, targeting absolute returns within institutional risk budgets.
Is OSSIA IM structured as a hedge fund or an asset manager?
It is structured as a Swiss FINMA-regulated asset manager, not an offshore hedge fund. All strategies are delivered through UCITS or Swiss-domiciled regulated funds designed for institutional investors. This regulatory posture — unusual for a macro boutique — is central to its distribution model, which targets Swiss pension funds, insurers, and family offices that require BVV 2 or UCITS-eligible structures.
Does OSSIA IM manage capital for retail investors or private banks?
No. The firm's institutional-only mandate and UCITS/BVV 2 fund structure preclude direct retail distribution. Its known client base is Swiss institutional — including at least one cantonal pension fund — and the firm does not maintain private-banking distribution agreements or retail share classes.
What is OSSIA IM's posture on co-investments or separate accounts?
OSSIA IM does not run private-market co-investment programs. Its strategies are entirely in liquid instruments. However, given its Swiss institutional focus, the firm likely accommodates segregated mandates and specific risk guidelines within its liquid multi-asset framework, as is standard for Swiss pension fund allocations to boutique managers.
How does OSSIA IM source its trading talent?
The founding team's background at RMF Investment Group and Man Group suggests talent is sourced from the deep Swiss institutional alternatives ecosystem rather than through lateral hires from investment banks. The firm's trader-led architecture, where named individuals run concentrated sub-portfolios, implies it recruits experienced PMs with verifiable track records in liquid macro or volatility trading.
Which geographic regions does OSSIA IM target in its portfolio?
Liquid market exposure is concentrated in G10 rates, US and European equity index volatility, and Asian commodity futures. The firm does not run dedicated emerging-market or frontier-market mandates. This G10-plus-Asia concentration reflects the liquidity and execution constraints inherent in the firm's systematic volatility and managed futures strategies.
Profile maintained by Altss using OSINT (open-source intelligence), regulatory filings, licensed data partners, and verified direct submissions. Read the methodology. Last updated: . Continuous refresh with full update cycles at least every 30 days.
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