The four key trades to power SLI's GARS fund in 2012

Standard Life Investments' Euan Munro, head of multi-asset investing and fixed income, has outlined the key trades the group's £8.8bn Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) fund is set to make next year.

The popular fund, which has pulled in £2.2bn in assets this year alone, has generated a positive return over the past year of extreme market volatility. The fund has returned 0.7% over one year, according to Morningstar, with holdings in US government bonds a major driver of returns. Here Munro outlines the major trades he expects should make money for the fund and its investors heading into 2012. 1. Shorting the euro Central to the GARS investment strategy is the conviction the euro will survive, but Munro intends to continue shorting the currency. Earlier this year the ma...