Fund Manager Interviews

Phoenix Investment Adviser, which focuses on investing in the bonds of out-of-favour companies whose securities’ prices have declined substantially, recently opened to outside investors a fund investing in the equity of the same ‘stressed’ companies. Founder and chief investment officer Jeff Peskind says such stocks may have significant upside potential in an environment of economic recovery where companies continue to have access to capital via the high-yield market. »

Michael Reichstein, whose Maltese alternative fund business, Resco Funds Sicav, is preparing to launch the Thoroughbred Horse Fund, says that despite the risks inherent in an asset class whose performance is partly dependent upon race results, the fund aims to achieve stable and attractive performance through a strategy of diversified investments and the access to the knowledge of a broad range of industry experts. »

Faris Abdulrazzaq (pictured), senior portfolio manager at Menasa Capital Management, which specialises in identifying investment opportunities in the rapidly-growing public markets of the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia, says that with a buoyant oil price driving current account surpluses, Gulf governments are poised to spend more than ever on building infrastructure and creating jobs.  »

Ezra Sun, manager of the Veritas China Fund and head of Far East at Veritas Asset Management, believes that consumption is a strong structural theme that over time will yield great returns, while capital investment also offers opportunities as infrastructure spending continues unabated amid continuing capacity expansion and upgrading.  »

Alex Moisseev (pictured), principal and chief investment officer of Dighton Capital Management, says the firm’s stable of managed futures funds are designed to perform in any market conditions, using a pattern recognition model and a strict selection process that produces a small number of high-quality trades. »

Thanos Ballos, managing partner of Strategic Investments Group, says the firm’s multi-manager Active Trading Fund, launched in May this year and managed by Permal Group, offers a multi-asset strategy that seeks to generate absolute returns with controlled volatility and low correlation to the fixed-income and equity markets. »

Jonathan Sharpe, chief executive of Ratio Asset Management, says the long/short small and mid-cap equity Ratio European Fund benefits from the limited attention the sell-side pays to the fund’s investment universe, which increases its inefficiencies, while the sharp decline in the level of assets on the buy side from its peak has increased the available opportunities. »

Gerry Aherne, chief executive of Javelin Capital, says the firm’s newly-launched Global Equity Strategies Fund, which employs a combination of systematic, fundamental and tactical strategies according to the specific characteristics of individual geographic regions or sectors, is set to appeal to investors that are becoming increasingly resistant to paying for beta-generated performance.  »

Coburn Barrett founder and senior manager Thomas Wehlen says the firm’s GLI Fund, a global quantitative macro fund, has beaten both the S&P 500 and the MSCI Global indices by more than 10 per cent over its nearly 13 years of existence, but fundraising is difficult because the fund does not fit into any standard category and not charge a performance fee. »

Jerome Booth, head of research at Ashmore Investment Management, says the new Ashmore PTC India Energy Infrastructure Fund benefits from the UK manager’s partnership with India’s largest power trader, which brings to the venture strong relationships in the sector that will help the fund to access strong deal flow, preferential deal terms and in-depth local expertise. »