Absolute return manager Crawford's best long and short ideas for Q1

The manager of the top fund in the Investment Association Targeted Absolute Return sector in 2014 is short resources companies and long annuity providers as his conviction positions this quarter.

David Crawford's £89m City Financial Absolute Equity fund was the top fund in the IA Targeted Absolute Return sector last year, returning almost 20% during 2014 versus a sector average of 2.5%, according to FE. The fund has also had no negative rolling 12-month return periods over the last 24 months, according to the Investment Association, as at the end of January 2015. Crawford (pictured) attributes this outperformance equally to his long and short book, and hopes to repeat his success this year, despite a negative start to 2015 for the fund. One of his key short positions has be...