Man has launched a Ucits III long/short equity fund called Man Long/Short Europe.

The fund will be managed by Man’s long/short equity team led by Robin Lowe.

It offers investors access to a number of offshore European long/short equity managers in a Ucits III compliant format for the first time.

It is a fund of funds with a focused portfolio of between eight and 12 managers. A due diligence process comprising top down and bottom up research is employed to ensure that only the highest calibre managers are selected.

Managers are selected from the full European long/short universe of over 300 funds, as opposed to the far smaller Ucits III universe. This offers investors access to a broader range of offshore European long/short funds and offers a combination of balanced, active and thematic investment approaches.

Mark Chambers, head of sales management Europe, says: “As one of the largest investors in hedge funds globally through our USD14bn multi-manager business, Man has long-standing relationships across the entire hedge fund community. This means that we are uniquely placed in terms of bringing forward top long/short talent in Europe, offering investors access to a breadth of funds which would be unavailable in the Ucits III universe alone.”

According Lowe, the current outlook for European equity markets remains uncertain.

“While there is broadly negative economic data, an unclear outlook for corporate profits and the threat of disinflation, we’re also seeing increasing M&A activity, strong corporate balance sheets and moderate valuations, which offer interesting opportunities. While long-only managers can suffer in this environment, long short managers can capture dispersion in sideways markets, participate significantly in equity upside and protect on the downside through short-selling and active portfolio and risk management.”