North Asset Managements’ MaxQ Fund is among Among the hedge funds who have profited in the European debt crisis. The UK based firm’s flagship fund gained a return of 2.41% net of fees, in the month of October 2012. The even better figure is the year to date returns for the ten months, which are now close to 13 percent. In 2012, the fund was down in only two months. MaxQ fund runs a global macro strategy and aims to deliver an above 15 percent return every year. The returns for 2011 were above 25 percent. December 2012 marks MaxQ’s 10th year anniversary.
While talking to Bloomberg TV, George Papamarkakis, chief investment officer at North Asset Management LLP, mentioned that the hedge fund managed $203 million (as of Jan 2012). The MaxQ Hedge Fund was the recipient of Hedge Fund Reviews Best Global Macro Award in May of this year, in the European Single Manager category. Previous winners of this award generated as high as a 10-fold increase in assets under management in the subsequent year. The award brings a lot of publicity, so the future looks bright for North Asset Management’s flagship fund.
In the US, MaxQ is bullish on US housing market and bearish on the corporate sector. The monthly commentary also notes the recent slide in Japanese yen which can be attributable to yen being overbought. Risks to the yen’s future include the appointment of the next governor of Japan’s central bank and also an upside risk to yen’s strength after further rounds of monetary easing. In South Africa, the fund lost in shorts in government bonds versus longs in CDS.
MaxQ’s investment strategies have major focus in forex and fixed income futures, notable themes are longs in euro vs Czhech Koruna and long USD vs JPY and longs in Japanese exporter companies, while shorting SA bonds vs SA rand, AUD vs USD.
