St Helens Capital's Arran Fund, an actively managed long short equity fund, was up +3.67% in January while the ASX200 was down -4.88%.
This result comes after the Fund posted a respectable 2008 return of -5.44%. Gains were made on short positions in Newcrest Mining and long positions on Rio Tinto, partially negated by losses on Leighton Holdings (long) and CSL (short). The manager believes the Fund is well positioned to take advantage of the eventual upswing in equity markets, and believes there are positive signs for the Australian economy although this may not become apparent for another few months.
