Brexit shock hits SLI GARS performance in second quarter of 2016

Unexpected referendum result

The team behind Standard Life Investments' £26.8bn Global Absolute Return Strategies (GARS) fund has said it was "caught off guard" by the UK's decision to leave the EU, costing the portfolio 3% in performance terms during June.

In an investor update from head of multi-asset Guy Stern, the manager said the surprise Brexit vote hurt the portfolio during the second quarter. The fund lost 1.1% during the period, compared to near zero returns for the IA Targeted Absolute Return sector. However, this was an improvement on the vehicle's Q1 performance when the strategy was down 3.5%; its worst quarterly performance since 2008. SLI GARS is down 4% over one year to 30 June 2016. Stern said: "It has been a quarter of two halves. April and May were positive, then June accounts for all the negative performance of the qu...