Armstrong Multi-Asset funds benefit from gold, water & Brazilian equities
The IM Armstrong Diversified Real Return fund (DRR) sits atop of the IMA cautious sector since launch, delivering a 7.8% return since its debut on 19 January 2010 to 17 March 2010. This compares favorably with the IMA Cautious Managed Sector median return of 2.1% during that period.
Dr. Ana Cukic Armstrong and Patrick Armstrong, Joint Managing Partners of Armstrong Investment Managers (AIM), have positioned the fund with significant exposure to precious metals, and assets which they believe will perform well in an environment where the purchasing power of most major currencies is being destroyed by excessive money supply growth, and large fiscal deficits which will need future funding.
Dr. Ana Cukic Armstrong said, "We expect that Global Economic growth will not live up to expectations, and we are concerned that the inevitable end game for most central banks is to engineer inflation. Inflation will reduce the real value of their debt, and will be difficult to avoid. The consensus view seems to be that labour markets are already improving, but we believe very high underemployment is going to be a problem for at least the the next 18 months. Economist surveys and the futures market are showing expectations for Western central banks to begin a significant string of interest hikes in August of this year. We think that the UK, Euro Zone and the US will not be able to raise interest rates until early 2011 at the earliest, as the so called 'economic recovery' to date is unsustainable as it has been essentially driven by Government spending"
Within equities the team has exposure to defensive assets and secular growth areas. This includes Utilities, Global Agribusiness equities, Global Water equities, Brazilian Equities, and Infrastructure assets.
Patrick Armstrong says "Equities fell about 7% in the first month following the DRR launch. We managed to perform very well during that period in all of our funds and advisory mandates. We generated positive returns through shorts on Spanish and Industrial Equities, and a benefitted from significant USD exposure. In recent weeks we have benefitted from investor demand for precious metals, and strong performance from Brazilian equities, and Global water stocks."
Armstrong Investment Managers (AIM) is a specialist multi-asset investment house focusing on risk controlled multi-asset solutions. The IM Armstrong Diversified Real Return Fund is AIM’s balanced multi-asset investment solution for cautious investors. The broad opportunity set and dynamic flexibility of this fund creates the potential for much better risk adjusted returns than traditional investments. The fund is diversified across a range of Global investment themes as well as a diverse range of regions, asset classes and investment strategies.
For more information, visit multi-asset.co.uk.