Investors who allocate into alternative UCITS funds – or ‘newcits’ – expect global macro strategies to be the best performers in 2012 acPARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Investors who allocate into alternative UCITS funds – or ‘newcits’ – expect global macro strategies to be the best performers in 2012 according to research by Citywire Global. The firm’s European Research Team spoke to 23 newcits investors based in 15 European countries in Q3 this year and 19 per cent of them picked that strategy, with 14 per cent favouring Emerging Market equity including Asia, and 13 per cent favouring equity l/s. Only 2 per cent believed outperformance would come from market neutral and multi-strategy funds. As for next year’s worst performers, commodities and market neutral funds came out on top, both attracting 14 per cent. Over half the investors said they would be increasing allocations to global macro and equity l/s funds. For the latter strategy, that’s something of a surprise given the volatility in global equities this year, although there’s no doubt the recent sell off has created numerous buying opportunities. This ties in with investor sentiment towards volatility strategies: 17 per cent said they would decrease their allocations, the most of any strategy. Let’s hope 2012 brings a bit more calm and stability to the markets.