Crawford revamps Absolute UK portfolio

Octopus Investments' David Crawford has restructured his Absolute UK Equity fund in an attempt to turn around performance and stem the sizable redemption pressure on the vehicle.

Launched in March 2008, the fund strongly outperformed in its first 18 months, climbing by as much as 95% over the period. However, performance began to slide about a year ago, with the fund down by 15% over the past 12 months. The losses led to significant investor outflows, with £80m of redemptions contributing to the size of the fund falling from £197m to £93m. Crawford, who admits he focused too much on short-term trading, moved to restructure the vehicle a few months ago. He is now limiting short-term trading to 20% of the fund and is establishing a longer investment time horizon...