In the first month of trading the AAM Mantis Program returned 2.49%, despite global economic problems.
Whilst Portfolio manager Stavros Loizou’s mandate allows him to take long and short positions in Equity Indices, Bonds and FX, the Mantis’ return in September came solely from long positions in individual equities. This impressive fact proves that an aggressive sell-off can present appealing opportunities; and Stavros’ over 20 years of trading experience has helped him spot them.
Loizou says: “Starting a new Program in the midst of a financial meltdown can sometimes be disconcerting. However, this is more the case for long term buy and hold Managers. The Mantis Program is an opportunistic short term trading program that aims to take advantage of extreme moves against the overall trend. Invariably these anomalies unwind in days and this enables the Program to exit the market in a short term time frame.
“The extreme volatility in September presented an opportunity to buy selective stocks that were marked down due to general pessimism. There were four main positions taken, the purchase (and sale) of BP, ARM, Rolls Royce and United Utilities. The Program went flat (i.e. no positions) towards month end to ensure preservation of equity. Until the level of volatility reduces, the Program will continue to take profits quickly and manage equity with protective stop losses.
“I continue to expect risk off trades to dominate which should result in Euro and Stock weakness and conversely Bond strength. However, the huge gyrations in these times of uncertainty have proved that being married to a view can have disastrous consequences. I therefore aim to stay nimble in the month ahead.”
The AAM Isis FX Program meanwhile, returned 0.36% with cuts in position sizes due to the volatility caused by central bank intervention and Eurozone concerns.
Portfolio Manager Imran Khan says: “September proved to be a very challenging month due to periods of high volatility in the currency markets. Our model reflected this by lowering its leverage level from 1:1 down to 0.5:1. The model generated two trades this month, one positive and one negative. We ended the month in positive territory but fell short of our monthly target. However, we have continued to outperform our main currency benchmark for the year.”
