American investment management firm BlackRock has launched the BlackRock European Absolute Alpha Fund. It uses a similar investment model to BlackRock’s UK Absolute Alpha Fund.
The company has said that the European Absolute Alpha aims to deliver positive returns across all market conditions by investing in equities and equity related securities (including derivatives) across Europe. The fund will be managed by senior portfolio manager Vincent Devlin who has 15 years of experience of managing European equities.
BlackRock European Absolute Alpha Fund can use the investment powers permitted under the UCITS III regulations, in particular the use of derivatives. The fund’s use of derivatives is designed to manage risk levels and reduce the volatility of returns. This enables the fund to have a lower risk profile relative to traditional long-only funds investing in the European region. The fund will hold between 50-100 names.
Alex Hoctor-Duncan, head of BlackRock’s UK retail business, said: BlackRock has an outstanding record in absolute return products which are a valuable investment strategy in all market environments. The success and popularity of BlackRock’s UK Absolute Alpha Fund demonstrates the high level of investor confidence in the Fund’s ability to deliver positive returns. After months of stress testing we are pleased to announce the launch of our pan-European fund the BlackRock European Absolute Alpha Fund.
