AR funds up in second half of 2010

Absolute return funds returned to form in the second half of 2010, after a period in which many failed to deliver, says Standard & Poor's Fund Services.

Kate Hollis, director of fund research, said the majority of stockpicking managers benefited from a shift in market conditions in the third quarter of the year. The disparity of returns was still significant, with 29% separating the top and bottom performers over the period. BlackRock's Mark Lyttleton argued this spread of returns is due to differences in manager skill and is not confined to the absolute return sector. The manager of the UK Absolute Alpha fund said: "The skills involved in running a long/short absolute return fund are different from running a long-only fund, ...