Barings closes targeted return multi asset fund following outflows

£92m fund 'unlikely to attract new investment'

The £92m Barings Multi Asset fund is the latest targeted absolute return fund to close following continuous outflows, Investment Week has learned.

The fund, managed by Christopher Mahon and Alison El-Araby, struggled to meet its objective, to generate a return in excess of UK inflation, last year. It lost 14.7% gross of fees from end of March 2019 to the same period in 2020, according to FE fundinfo. This compared to its performance comparator RPI, which was 2.6% for the period. Over a three-year period, Barings' target timeframe, the fund just managed to outperform RPI which was 2.2%, compared to the fund, gross of fees, which returned 2.4%. Soul searching: Targeted absolute return must look deep into itself for any chance o...