DSP to launch Indian Absolute Return fund

Dalton Strategic Partnership has hired Goldman Sachs’ Gaurav Pant to run an Indian Absolute Return fund.

The MST Indian Absolute Return fund, expected to launch in September 2011 as a sub-fund of the Melchior Selected Trust SICAV, will seek to generate absolute returns from a portfolio of long and short Indian equities.

The portfolio will consist of about 25 themes, according to DSP. The fund will typically operate with a net exposure range of between -10% and +25%, and an average gross exposure range of 80%-120%.

Pant, who worked at Goldman Sachs for eight years, most recently as an executive director, will aim to deliver an annual return of 12%-18% while reducing the volatility commonly associated with Indian equities.

"Most investors recognise India offers one of the most exciting secular growth investment opportunities on the planet, however, many of those same investors find the volatility of Indian equities unpalatable or too traumatic," said DSP managing partner Magnus Spence.

"The dispersion of returns in large, liquid Indian equities is substantial, and greater than that which is found in most other markets. This creates significant opportunities for the generation of alpha."