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Investec Asset Management reports strong returns for first commodity hedge fund

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Investec Asset Management’s first commodity hedge fund, the Guernsey-domiciled Global Commodities & Resources Fund, has marked its first anniversary by delivering returns of more than

Investec Asset Management’s first commodity hedge fund, the Guernsey-domiciled Global Commodities & Resources Fund, has marked its first anniversary by delivering returns of more than 50 per cent over its first 12 months of existence.

Launched in January 2007, the fund has grown to USD150m with flows coming mainly from institutional and high net worth investors attracted by its active management style, flexible investment parameters and the experience of its management team.

The fund is managed by head of commodities and resources Bradley George, who has more than 12 years’ previous sell-side experience in the sector, with a seven-strong global commodities team sharing analysis on the fund, including specialists covering precious metals, base metals, energy and soft commodities.

The fund invests across the entire commodity spectrum, including investing in companies involved in energy, metals and mining and agriculture, and has flexibility to move between different commodities. It has a total return objective and employs an investment process that combines fundamental analysis of underlying commodities with a bottom-up stock-picking approach.

The fund is the latest addition to Investec Asset Management’s range of specialist commodity and resources funds, all of which have delivered strong returns over both the long and short term.

While the Global Commodities & Resources Fund has returned 52.7 in its first year, the Investec GSF Global Energy Fund and Investec GSF Global Gold Fund have delivered 38.0 and 53.4 respectively over the 12 months to the end of February, according to Lipper.

The Global Energy Fund has averaged an annual net return of 26.7 over the past three years and 34.3 over five years, while the Global Gold Fund has averaged 37.8 per cent over three years and 29.0 over five.

‘Investec Asset Management has a long tradition of bringing strong commodity and resources products to market, and we managed more than USD5bn in commodity-related investments at the end of last year,’ George says.

‘In creating this fund we have drawn on an experienced team in South Africa, and complemented it with a London-based team with wide investment banking, research and industry experience.

‘Our fundamentals-based process allows us to find investment opportunities across the spectrum, and we believe we can offer clients a unique depth of commodity experience, combined with skill in active investment management, and a focused search for investment returns.’

Investec Asset Management, an independently managed subsidiary of the Johannesburg-based Investec Group, is a specialist investment manager established in 1991 to serve institutional and individual investors in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and Africa. The firm employs around 100 investment professionals and managed assets totalling some USD65bn at the end of September last year.

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