The MQ Asia Long Short Fund, managed by Macquarie Funds Group, posted a December return of +1.96%, due to gains of over +3% in the Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Korean equity markets. The fund was down -8.93% overall in 2008.
The manager noted that Australia was the only market to have a negative return in December, which offset the fund's positive performance in Asian markets. Regarding the fund's negative 2008 return, the manager attributed this more to liquidity driven price distortions, and the failure of analysts to cut estimates sufficiently for cyclical companies, rather than the general decline in equity markets. Although redemptions have been significant the fund remains profitable, and the manager belives there are an increasing number of investment avenues heading into 2009.
