Henderson drops absolute return label from European fund

21 February 2012 8:15 am | By Joanne Ellul

Henderson has renamed the £8m European absolute return fund as the Henderson Gartmore European equity long/short fund.

It is the second time the asset manager has dropped the absolute return label this year.

Alongside the name change, the fund will invest in a more concentrated portfolio of between 45 and 50 holdings with a focus on liquid large and mid cap equities. Previously, it invested in between 50 and 70 portfolio stocks. The fund now has a higher risk/return profile but still has a maximum net long exposure of 75 per cent.

The fund is also introducing changes to its performance fee with the Euro Main Refinancing rate used as the hurdle rate. The main refinancing rate is the interest rate which banks have to pay when they borrow money from the European Central Bank.

There is a performance fee of 20 per cent of the outperformance of the current day net asset value relative to the hurdle, subject to the high water mark. If the fund underperforms in relation to either the hurdle or the high water mark, no performance fee is paid.

Previously, investors had to pay a performance fee of 20 per cent, calculated on a daily basis, of the outperformance of the net asset value relative to the previous day’s net asset value only subject to the high water mark.

The changes come as part of restructuring the firm’s range following its merger with Gartmore. Last week, Henderson announced 12 fund mergers to the range.

These were alongside restructuring its £43m diversified absolute return and £556m higher income funds next month. The Henderson diversified absolute return fund will be renamed the multi-manager diversified fund.

The fund will be managed by Bill McQuaker and Paul Craig and will be placed in the IMA mixed investment 0-35 per cent sector on March 30. The Henderson higher income fund will be renamed the global equity income fund under the management of Ben Lofthouse and Andrew Jones, the change also takes place on March 30.

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