Regression

Measured against cash, all onshore absolute return funds should have had a decent three-year run as stock markets have risen on the back of global demand and interest rate rises. Those with a focus on bonds have had a harder time, but is it too early to tell whether the UK's absolute managers do a good job?

There are just 29 listed onshore funds with an equity element to their strategy that claim to be absolute or target return. Of these, just 10 have a three-year performance history. Based on figures to the end of March, Financial Express calculates cash investors would have gained 9.1% in the last three years. Those equity investors tracking the FTSE All Share would be up 64.4% and those in average Global Growth sector fund would have seen their investment rise by 46.9%. Among the best-known absolute funds is the BlackRock Merrill Lynch UK Alpha fund, run by Mark Lyttleton. The fund is £10...