Rob Burdett, multi-manager at Thames River Capital
"The sector contains many different flavours of 'absolute' and I would highlight the relatively true-to-type Henderson UK Absolute Return fund run by Ben Wallace and Luke Newman. They run a relatively market-neutral style and have many years' experience in the sector running similar hedge funds.""At the more exciting, potentially directional end of the sector is the CF Odey UK Absolute Return fund run by James Hanbury, who focuses on a very tight list of fundamental longs with a few fundamental shorts."
"This does mean it can be more volatile but the overall returns are well worth it. Both are outperforming the sector and the UK index over the last three volatile months."
David Coombs, head of multi-asset investment at Rathbones
"It’s important to remind ourselves that absolute return is an eclectic mix of strategies. We have opted for a CTA (commodities trading advisor) which is essentially a futures-trading strategy.""Some multi-managers are reluctant to utilise these in lower-risk strategies, given their high levels of volatility, but we think their lower correlation to equities is attractive from a diversification perspective."
"The portfolio holds Aspect Capital Diversified, a computer-driven strategy which seeks profit by identifying medium-term trends, and takes long and short positions across equities, commodities, interest rates, government bonds and currencies."
Joe Le Jehan, analyst on Marcus Brookes’ multi-manager team at Cazenove
"With the current economic climate once again testing the more bullish outlook for markets, we continue to look for Absolute Return funds that can offer some form of hedge against the broader 'risk on' sentiment evident in recent times.""The more cautious outlook of Philip Gibbs' Jupiter Absolute Return fund provides us with these characteristics – a portfolio long of defensive currencies like the Norwegian krone and US dollar, high quality corporate bonds and equity, Japanese government bonds and some of the more stretched western retailers."
"Rapidly changing sentiment has seen equity markets bounded within a relatively tight trading range in the recent past. In these periods, relative value funds such as Majedie Tortoise (not in the IMA sector) have also provided alternative returns concentrating on long/short ideas in the UK equity market."
Ben Yearsley, investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown
"My favourite at the moment is the Melchior European Absolute Return fund. It is managed in the way an Absolute Return fund is meant to be managed, giving returns in all types of market.""When the rest of the market was down more than 4 per cent yesterday, the Melchior fund was up 0.25 per cent."
"Another I like is Philip Gibbs’ Jupiter Absolute Return portfolio. That one was up yesterday as well. It’s great to see two of the largest holdings in my personal portfolio doing well."