Five absolute return funds catching the eye

ABSOLUTE RETURNS

Ken Rayner, investment director at Rayner Spencer Mills, may have reservations about absolute return funds in most circumstances, but he has identified a handful of products worth considering...

The Investment Management Association (IMA) defines absolute return funds as those managed with the aim of delivering absolute (i.e. more than zero) returns in any market conditions. There are a number of ways of trying to achieve this, and while the funds may all sit in the same sector, there is great diversity in how they operate and the risks they take. Many of the issues that now surround these funds are centered on the definition which, unlike geographic or asset-based funds, has a focus on return. This definition is not always clear for investors who can interpret it as a guaran...