Turcan Connell opens absolute return fund

Edinburgh-based Turcan Connell is to take advantage of growing demand for low-risk investments by launching an absolute return fund, it has revealed.

The solicitor and asset manager said the fund, in the process of being rubber-stamped by the regulator, is being rolled out to meet investor requests for low volatility options. Absolute returns funds promise positive returns in all market conditions but not all have delivered, with some products in the sector down by more than 10 per cent over the last year.

Haig Bathgate, chief investment officer at Turcan Connell, said its fund would be positioned at the cautious end of the sector, investing primarily in derivatives and hedge fund structures,

"It is designed for people holding cash on a long-term basis who are taking a view of three to five years or more but don't want to take stock market risk," he said.

The firm has been running the fund for some individual clients for around three years, during which it has produced annualised returns of 6 to 8 per cent. Growing demand prompted Turcan to make the fund available to both existing and external investors, adding it to its existing "Balanced" and "Income" funds.

"An increasing number of clients have been requesting returns that are not correlated with traditional equity markets," Bathgate explained. "They don't want to take big risks."