Funds Centre

Artemis Strategic Assets added to Wealth 150

To make money in extraordinary times you need an exceptional fund. For most investors, shares are a core part of their portfolio, but today there are also opportunities in currencies, bonds and commodities.The new Artemis Strategic Assets Fund

can invest in shares, bonds, currencies, commodities and cash. It will be managed by William Littlewood who will seek to maximise returns by moving aggressively between those asset classes. The fund’s structure means he can also make money from falling prices if he makes the right calls (see the explanation below).The aim of the fund is to provide long term positive returns whilst outperforming both cash and shares over three-year periods, but of course there are no guarantees. Some of the strategies William Littlewood will employ can be higher risk and the performance will depend entirely on his ability to choose the right asset classes in the right proportions.Investing in a wide range of assets obviously increases the opportunities but also increases the range of risks (please see the key features). This structure can magnify both gains and losses; the returns will depend on his ability to make the right calls. If he gets it right the fund has the potential to rise, even in a falling market. If he gets it wrong the fund will fall in value whatever the market is doing.In buying this fund you not only have a truly gifted fund manager choosing the stocks, but also the asset classes which he believes will offer the highest potential returns. This is Artemis's first fund launch in four years and we believe it is perfectly suited to today’s markets. It has been added to the Wealth 150, our list of favourite funds in each sector.Stuart Goodwin, Analyst>  Key Features of the Artemis Strategic Assets FundEstimated Asset Allocation at LaunchUK Equities                                             25.0%Overseas Equities                                    10.0%Short Equities                                          -5.0%Corporate Bonds                                      5.0%Commodities                                           15.0%Currencies                                               5.0%Short UK and US Government Bonds          -20.0%Cash                                                      45.0%Please note this is solely for illustrative purposes and the Asset Allocation may be subject to change.Shorting – An ExplanationTraditionally investors buy assets they believe will rise in value. Shorting is different. For example the fund manager could actually sell shares they don’t own. This in effect means he owes the buyer the shares. The buyer agrees they will not take delivery of the shares for, say, six months and the fund manager hopes that by then the share price will have fallen. After six months the fund manager purchases the shares in the market and passes them on to his buyer. The difference between the two prices is the profit or loss. For example:1. Fund manager sells short 10,000 shares at £2 each = £20,0002. Purchase these shares six months later at 80p each = £8,0003. Profit = £12,000In this example had the share price risen by the same amount, it would have cost the manager more to purchase the shares than they made from selling them and they would have made a £12,000 loss. There are many ways of effecting this investment strategy and Artemis will short by entering into contracts with a broker and do not actually take delivery of the shares. Therefore this is not an exact description of how it happens, and ignores transaction and other costs, but it hopefully explains the principle.