Cazenove Absolute UK Dynamic Class P1 Acc

Paul Marriage has got off to a good start with this fund so far in 2011. Performance has been boosted by a number of positive earnings upgrades for companies held in the portfolio. Mergers and acquisitions have also benefitted the fund as some companies have seen strength in their share prices following bid activity.

Paul Marriage also believes many people are expecting some company earnings to be higher than is realistically achievable. He has the flexibility to use higher risk alternative investment techniques such as shorting in this fund which could allow him to profit from falling, as well as rising, share prices. There are, however, no guarantees and, like other funds, performance relies upon the manager making the right decisions. If he makes the wrong calls the fund will fall in value. Furthermore the fund is likely to underperform in a rising market.

He is seeing opportunities to take short positions in companies he believes could struggle to meet their earnings expectations and any share price weakness that could result. His most attractive shorts have come from the retail, industrial and chemicals sectors. This can be a concentrated portfolio which increases risk as each holding can have a big impact.

Overall, Paul Marriage retains a cautious outlook and he continues to focus on select opportunities at a company level. He is able to invest in higher risk smaller companies, which can be more volatile than their larger counterparts. Any investment should be considered over the long-term and please note this fund carries a performance fee, further details of which can be found in the funds simplified prospectus. This fund is not currently on the Wealth 150 list of our favourite funds in each sector.