Opinion: The big issues with 'absolute return funds'

I am an advocate of the principle of 'keeping it simple', writes Peter Elston, CIO of Seneca Investment Managers.

The three funds my team manage are all multi-asset, investing in equities, bonds, and specialist investment trusts that themselves invest in such things as property, infrastructure, wind farms, airplanes, and loans to SMEs (small- and medium-sized enterprises). They are more than just traditional balanced funds but they are still simple. We do not invest in complicated things such as structured products, hedge funds, derivatives or arbitrage strategies. In other words, our funds are absolutely not absolute return funds. Fund objectives But what are 'absolute return funds'? The in...