Philip Gibbs’ new Jupiter Absolute Return vehicle has become the most successful launch of 2009, taking in more than £244m in its fund raising period.
Gibbs also raised in excess of £98m for his Jupiter International Financials fund, taking the total raised in the pre-launch period to £342m.
While the total includes £153m of switches from his existing Financial Opportunities fund, the overwhelming majority of flows into Absolute Return are new investments.
"I am extremely honoured by the level of support investors have given the two new funds, not to mention the continued support they have shown for Jupiter Financial Opportunities," Gibbs says.
"While markets have already rallied sharply this year, it is my view that equities, and financial stocks in particular, should be able to make further progress while interest rates remain low.
"Although debt levels remain high in Western economies this is not so much the case in many emerging markets. Ultimately, Western governments will need to tackle budget deficits and economic recovery will eventually force interest rates higher, which may increase volatility."
Gibbs' £1.27bn Jupiter Financial Opportunities fund has returned 794% since its launch in June 1997, ranking it first out of 689 unit trusts over the period. On an annualised basis, the fund has returned 19.15% a year, compared to 2.72% for the FTSE ASX Financials index.
