First Sentier long short fund kicks off for retail investors

By Penny Pryor

First Sentier has launched the First Sentier Australian Small Companies Long Short Opportunities Fund, which looks to identify those small companies that will develop into larger successful businesses, while also taking positions on the ones that won't.

"The team has a long, successful track record in managing a long short strategy for institutional clients. The team wanted to make the long short strategy available to retail investors who may be able to benefit from investing in the strategy," First Sentier head of Australian Small and Mid Cap Companies, Dawn Kanelleas, told Industry Moves.

The Australian Small and Mid Cap Companies team has been managing a long short strategy for institutional clients since October 2008 and Kanelleas said there were a limited number of long short small cap strategies available to retail investors.

"Introducing short positions into a portfolio can allow small company portfolio managers to fully express their insights on both overweight and underweight positions," she said.

"The proficient use of shorting allows managers to target a higher level of performance for a comparable level of risk than a traditional, long-only small companies portfolio."

First Sentier joins a number of fund managers recently making their institutional alternative strategies available to retail investors.