The Moonraker Global Opportunities Fund's sterling share class returned 1.7 per cent net of all charges over the same period compared with -21.2 per cent by its benchmark, the HFRI FOF Strategic Index.

Both funds are managed by Jeremy Charlesworth, chief investment officer of Moonraker. From their launch last June, Charlesworth positioned the funds to benefit from the financial crisis, investing in underlying funds that were shorting both financials and commodities.

Charlesworth says: 'Last year we expected to see a sell-off but not the meltdown that actually happened. We were correctly positioned for a downturn but the sheer viciousness of it meant that we outperformed to a major extent. We invested in smaller funds whose managers were able to trade in and out of the market when larger, less nimble managers were having trouble closing their positions.

'With regards to the commodities cycle, we selected several experienced fund managers who had seen the same pattern of events unfolding in the past, with accelerating price frenzy followed by the bubble collapsing, demand destruction and deflation. As many commodity investors panicked and sold their holdings, our managers had already sold their portfolios short and we enjoyed gains from a very nice downtrend. Demand destruction was global, but the most significant downturn came from China and India: their demand for oil and copper fell dramatically.'

The funds also are also exposed to several long term themes, including inflation, inelasticity of supply in commodities, the growing middle class in emerging markets and a growing imbalance in supply and demand for energy.

Charlesworth anticipates a major bout of price rises in the not too distant future as governments will be forced to allow inflation to rise to reduce the real value of debts.

Moonraker's funds offer sterling, US dollar and euro share classes and are available to both institutional and retail clients. The minimum investment is GBP15,000.