Absolute returns:relatively speaking

Stock market investors during the bull market years of the 1990s would have deemed the concept of an absolute return fund as wholly unnecessary. During those years, investors considered a healthy future return from their investments as a near certainty, with traditional investment funds, which aim to outperform an index, enjoying double-digit annual gains on a regular basis. However, the three-year bear market which commenced in March 2000 taught a fundamental lesson: the aim of relative outperformance is of little comfort when markets are in freefall. Against this backdrop, and with the ...