Managed by David Mooney, the fund is designed for investors who want access to physical commodities rather than equities or exchange-traded fund (ETF) exposure.
Mooney says that equity prices are dependent on a range of factors and favours exposure to physical commodities futures where prices are determined by supply and demand.
"With global economic growth on a sustained track and concentrated in emerging markets, and with the costs of commodities exploration and production under relentless upward pressure, we are in an extraordinary period for commodities," he explained.
"This fund gives investors risk-adjusted access to the asset class through best-in-class managers."
The closed-ended fund aims to outperform the DJ-UBS Commodity Total Return Index by 6 to 9 per cent net of fees. It will provide 100 per cent exposure to the benchmark index through a portfolio of 10 to 12 commodity accounts.
"We instruct managers who have the acumen, track record, expertise and, most importantly, access to information about the commodity market," Mooney continued.
"Managers are hired to do better than follow the choreography of the index."
The active managed part of the fund will comprise 50 to 90 per cent with a futures portfolio, managed by Mooney and his team at Schroders NewFinance Capital, topping up the benchmark to meet the 5 per cent tracking target.
The Dow Jones benchmark was chosen as it represents a more balanced split between the energy, agricultural and precious metals sectors.
Schroders has opted to run the fund as an investment trust because unpredictable inflows and outflows of an open-ended structure would provide unwanted liquidity issues.
Performance of fund vs index over 1-yr
Source: Financial Express Analytics
The new investment company will mirror the existing Opus Commodities Core Plus strategy. Open only to institutional investors, it has been run by the team since October 2007.
According to Financial Express data, this strategy has returned 9 per cent since its launch, compared with 17 per cent from the benchmark.