Three protective offerings for absolute return sector sceptics

The best funds to protect against downsides

Ben Willis, head of portfolio management at Chase de Vere, tells Lauren Mason which three funds in the IA Targeted Absolute Return or risk-adjusted sectors he uses for downside protection, and why he trusts them more than behemoths such as Standard Life GARS and Invesco Global Targeted Returns.

While investors are often deterred by some of the IA Targeted Absolute Return sector's volatility spikes and lacklustre returns from some of its larger funds, there are still highly attractive diversification benefits and downside protection to be found within it, according to Chase de Vere's Ben Willis. The absolute return sector comeback? The head of portfolio management maintains what he describes as a "high weighting" to so-called alternatives across the firm's cautious and balanced portfolios, given how volatile both equities and fixed income investments have been recently.  H...