Merrion Investment Managers has recruited a long short equity team, comprised of Michael Nicol and Alistair MacDonald, to manage a new Ucits III European Absolute Return Fund.
The fund combines the expertise of an experienced team with the stability of Merrion’s established Ucits platform.
The fund is targeting an absolute return of 15 per cent to 20 per cent per annum with annualised volatility between 7.5 per cent and ten per cent.
It has been launched with USD20m of initial investment.
Nicol and MacDonald have accumulated over 50 years of investment experience. Their approach is to detect mis-priced company securities through company analysis that focuses on understanding companies’ business models, earnings drivers and risks.
Kevin Gallacher, director, Merrion Investment Managers, says: “The Merrion European Absolute Return Fund is designed to provide investors with the absolute return characteristics of a hedge fund plus the transparency and daily liquidity of a regulated Ucits product. It enables investors to access the proven stock-picking skills of an experienced long short equity team on a tried and tested administrative platform. ”
Nicol adds: “During the last ten years, global equity markets have entered a more volatile and less certain environment for returns. Our investment process has delivered consistent positive absolute returns with low volatility in both rising and falling markets. Perhaps most importantly, it operates with low levels of leverage and does not need to be adapted or compromised to comply with Ucits regulations.”
