A strong year for New Zealand managers

Well - the final numbers for 2008 are in for the Ernst & Young New Zealand Absolute Return Index - and it was a good year. The index finished the year +20.398% YTD after a +2.372% monthly performance in December. Since inception in June 2007 the index has posted a cumulative gain of 30.508% and is currently annualizing at 19.97%. Performance for the year was driven by strong gains in volatility, trend-following strategies and to a lesser extent, commodities. Equity market strategies suffered in line with broader market weakness but saw some late strength in December. We are now getting some interest in putting together a fund based on the index...so watch this space.