28th Apr 2008 07:00
Polar Capital Holdings PLC28 April 2008 28 April 2008 Polar Capital LLP Polar Capital LLP announces plans to launch UK Absolute Return Fund Polar Capital LLP ("Polar Capital") announces today plans to launch the UKAbsolute Return Fund (the "Fund"). The investment objective of the Fund will beto invest predominantly in equities of United Kingdom companies and to asignificantly lesser degree European and global equities. Subject to the approval of the Fund by the Irish Financial Services RegulatoryAuthority, the Fund is expected to be launched on 3 June 2008 and will bedomiciled in Dublin and listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Fund aims todeliver positive absolute returns regardless of UK stock market conditions byfully utilising the wider investment powers permitted under UCITS IIIregulations. Subject to the registration of the Fund with the Financial Services Authority,the Fund will be available to on-shore UK investors, providing them with theopportunity to invest in an authorised product that can hold both long andsynthetic short positions with daily liquidity. The Fund will be run by Philip Hardy who founded the UK team at Polar Capitalwith the launch of a UK hedge fund in November 2001. This fund has a proven 6year track record in long/short investing, providing an annualised return sinceinception of 9.5% versus an annualised total return of 5.7% for the FTSEAll-Share Index, with annualised volatility of less than half of that index*.Prior to joining Polar Capital, Philip spent 13 years at Schroders AssetManagement where he became a founding member of the Specialist UK Equity Teamand also took on the management of the Schroder UK Equity Fund as well asrunning proprietary money. Philip will be assisted by Nick Shenton who joinedPolar Capital in 2007 and has over four years experience as an analyst andassistant fund manager on UK and European equities. Mark Kary, Chief Executive of Polar Capital, commented: "This gives investors a unique opportunity to access, through a regulated fund,Philip's proven 6 year track record in long/short investing on the UK market.Importantly, it comes at a time when investment market conditions would suggestthat increased allocations to sensible low volatility absolute return strategiesare appropriate." Philip Hardy, fund manager of the Polar Capital UK Fund, commented: "Global equity markets are at an inflection point and volatility in the UKequity market has increased significantly and is likely to remain high. With theoutlook now being less predictable and risks skewed to the downside, the abilityto establish short positions and identify secular trends and pricing anomaliesis becoming increasingly important." Enquiries Polar CapitalRobert Blaxland 020 7227 2737Iain Evans 020 7227 2740 Financial DynamicsEd Gascoigne-Pees 020 7269 7132Felicity Murdoch 020 7269 7243 LandsbankiSimon Bridges 020 7426 9569Claes Spang 020 7426 7706 Notes to editors About Polar Capital Polar Capital is a research driven investment management company providing ahighly entrepreneurial environment for outstanding portfolio managers within astructure that offers a level of marketing, administrative and operationalsupport normally found in much larger organisations. Our objective is to achieve strong, sustainable earnings and dividend growth bybuilding a highly diversified family of long-only, long-bias, equity long/shortand other fundamentally driven hedge fund strategies managed under the PolarCapital brand. Today Polar Capital has a staff of 63 of whom 35 are investment professionalsmanaging 14 funds, one managed account and two advisory relationships. Thesefunds, which are aimed at institutional and professional investors, havecombined assets under management as at 31 March 2008 of $3.1bn. Polar Capitalnow has offices in London, Singapore, Tokyo and Kiev. Polar Capital Funds plc-UK Absolute Return Fund details Fund name UK Absolute Return FundInvestment Management company Polar Capital LLPFund structure Dublin domiciled UCITS IIIFund manager Philip HardyFund base currency GBPAdditional share classes Euro and USDLaunch date 3 June 2008Listing Irish Stock ExchangeInvestment Management fee 1.5% p.a.Performance fee 20% (subject to hurdle rate and high water mark) The Fund will be a sub-fund of Polar Capital Funds plc, an open-ended umbrellainvestment company with segregated liability between sub-funds and authorised inIreland as an investment company pursuant to the European Communities(Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) Regulations,2003 (S.I. Number 211 of 2003) as amended). (*Source: Polar Capital and Bloomberg, 14 Nov 2001 to 31 March 2008) This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Polar Capital