BlackRock planning an Americas equity absolute return fund
From Products Jan 19 2012 BY: Gary Corcoran
, Group Editor
, Portfolio Adviser and International Adviser
BlackRock has announced its intention to launch an absolute return equity fund based on securities listed in or giving exposure to companies in the US, Canada and Latin America.
The company plans to launch the BlackRock Americas Diversified Equity Absolute Return Fund during the first quarter of this year although the Financial Services Authority is yet to be officially informed so is still a way from FSA approval.
The fund will sit within the BlackRock Strategic Funds range, its Luxembourg-based Sicav, and will follow a similar strategy to its BSF BlackRock European Diversified Equity Absolute Return Fund.
It will be co-managed by Raffaele Savi, a member of the scientific active equity team which is part of BlackRock's portfolio management group and Travis Cooke, a senior portfolio manager in the same scientific active equity team.
The managers will invest at least 70% through equities and equity-related securities, including derivatives, of or giving exposure to companies incorporated or listed in the US, Canada and Latin America.
They will also use derivatives to provide synthetic long and synthetic short positions in a universe of between 2,000 and 3,000 stocks at any given time.
Its initial charge is a maximum of 5%, with an AMC of 1.5% and a 20% performance fee with a high watermark.
Alex Hoctor-Duncan, head of retail sales, EMEA, commented: “The fund will provide investors with access to a broad range of fundamental, behavioural and technical investment themes covering different time horizons. The result will be a highly diverse and balanced portfolio seeking to achieve a positive absolute return for investors regardless of market movements.”