The fund was launched in May 2008, three years after Lyttleton’s UK Absolute Alpha fund that now has £1.8bn in assets under management. The net asset value of the firm’s Absolute Return Strategies fund is around £130m.
In the closed-ended company’s report and accounts published in April its chairman Colin Maltby pointed out concerns over its discount to NAV, saying that the discount was widening despite the various steps it had taken to counter it.
“Despite the strong positive return delivered by the company’s NAV over the past two years and the reduction in the supply of the company’s shares through the reverse auction tender offer and the on-market share repurchase, the share price discount to NAV of each share class has continued to be relatively wide,” he wrote.
“The Board will continue to explore different ways to address the discount that will benefit all shareholders.”
Having examined its options, the Board has now decided to wind down the fund, saying: “Despite the recent NAV performance the key investor concerns remain the level of the discount and, due in part to the relatively small market capitalisation of the company, the limited liquidity provided by each share class.
“For these reasons the Board has now determined to recommend that the company should commence a managed wind-down of its portfolio.”
BlackRock Absolute Return Strategies Limited is a closed-ended London Stock Exchange-listed multi-manager investment fund organized as a Jersey company. Any wind-down needs the company’s shareholders’ approval at an Extraordinary General Meeting, the date of which is still to be confirmed.
