Absolute Return

The Interview – William Kitchin, Alternative Advisors: “Our clients are now more focused than ever on regulation, transparency and liquidity”

Alternative Advisors’ William Kitchin (pictured), portfolio manager of the Castillon Diversified Fund, a Ucits absolute return fund of funds, says that while the fund is constrained in its selection of underlying managers by the need to match the liquidity it offers to investors, this is not a particular disadvantage in the short term given the current macro economic conditions. »

The Interview – Alistair MacDonald, Merrion Investment Managers: “Volatility in markets produces opportunities particularly for investors that can identify both long and short ideas”

Alistair MacDonald, co-manager of the newly-launched Merrion European Absolute Return Fund, argues that Ucits III hedge funds are benefiting from the current uncertainty over the final form and substance of the European Union’s AIFM Directive as well as concerns over the costs of implementing its requirements. »

The Interview – Chris Day and George Cadbury, Merchant Capital: “There is a massive opportunity for high-calibre managers to raise money through a Ucits structure”

Merchant Capital directors Chris Day (pictured) and George Cadbury say the firm, which last year launched the first Dublin-domiciled Ucits umbrella fund created specifically for Ucits absolute return funds, is looking to launch up to 10 funds over the course of 2010 following the debut of the long/short Merchant European Equity Fund in January. »

The Interview – Spike Hughes, Insynergy Investment Management: “It is difficult to see how investors will recapture lost value through cash or cash-like investments”

Spike Hughes, chief executive of Insynergy Investment Management, says that building on the existing success of its initial retail fund run by Crispin Odey and new absolute return funds targeting India and China, the firm will seek out further world-class investment teams with proven strategies that can be adapted to a Ucits structure. »

The Interview: Fred Sage, Decision Analytics Advisory Partners: “Repackaging hedge funds as Ucits-compliant structures is new territory for the investment management industry

Fred Sage, managing partner of Decision Analytics Advisory Partners, says the Next Generation Absolute Return Ucits Sicav and Ucits Fund of Funds will offer investors a unique selection of hedge fund strategies with all the protection offered by a Ucits umbrella fund structure, backed up by a broad range of internal and third-party sophisticated Ucits funds expertise. »

The Interview – Richard Sherwin, Blacksquare Capital: “Ucits funds give managers access to new pools of savings and a diversified investor base”

Richard Sherwin, partner and head of investment research at Blacksquare Capital, says the newly-launched IFSL Blacksquare Multi-Manager Absolute Return Fund, of which he is portfolio manager, is accessible and affordable to a large majority of investors thanks to a minimum investment of GBP1,000 for its UK retail share class and the absence of a performance fee – a unique characteristic for a multi-manager absolute return fund. »

The Interview – Richard Hodgetts, Collins Stewart Fund Management: “Nearly all the higher-quality absolute return products have come from managers running existing hedge funds”

Manager Richard Hodgetts says the newly-launched Collins Stewart Alternative Strategies Fund, a Ucits III fund of absolute return funds that draws on the firm’s extensive experience as a manager of funds of hedge funds, is set to capitalise on increasing interest in absolute return strategies as investor confidence returns. »

The Interview – Frédéric Durr, Maoming Investment Management: “Our role is to make higher returns and preserve capital whatever happens”

Frédéric Durr, a principal and fund manager with Shanghai-based Maoming Investment Management, says the firm’s Maoming Fund aims to generate returns while preserving capital through an intense focus on the companies it invests in, with liquidity the key element in risk management. »

The Interview Bill Woodruff, Bandon Capital Management: “Alternative strategies are valuable portfolio components for mass affluent and small institutional investors”

Bill Woodruff, founder, president and portfolio manager at Bandon Capital Management, says the firm’s directional interest rate strategy, offered through separately managed accoun »

The Interview - Ralph Gasser, Bank Julius Baer: "Clients are increasingly willing to add risk again cautiously"

The five-year-old Julius Baer Absolute Return Bond Fund managed by London-based Augustus Asset Managers has delivered euro-denominated returns of 3.8 per cent over the past three »