Bennelong's Richard Fish lines up for new listed fund
Legendary Bennelong pairs trader Richard Fish's long/short strategy is being marketed to retail investors through a new $75 million listed investment company called Absolutely Equity Performance.
![Performance comparisons.](/web/20151110022248im_/http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/k/v/1/l/z/image.related.afrArticleInline.620x0.gkuz12.png/1447117828058.png)
Legendary Bennelong pairs trader Richard Fish's long/short strategy is being marketed to retail investors through a new $75 million listed investment company called Absolutely Equity Performance.
Absolute Equity Performance has hired Ord Minnett, Morgans and Bell Potter to lead the initial public offering and lodged a prospectus with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.
Bennelong's Fish, who runs the Bennelong Long Short Equity Fund, will manage the money on behalf of Absolute Equity Performance using a similar strategy to his existing long/short fund.
Fish, and his senior portfolio manager Sam Shepherd, are highly regarded in the Australian funds management community for their unique pairs trading style, where long positions are matched with a short position in a similar security.
According to the prospectus, his fund has returned 19.4 per cent a year over the past 10-years, while the S&P/ASX 200 accumulation index has gained 5.3 per cent.
A $10,000 investment when Fish started the strategy in February 2002 would now be worth almost $100,000.
Hong Kong-based Marc Fisher, an executive at alternative asset manager Gottex Fund Management, will oversee the LIC as chairman, while fellow directors include former Commonwealth Bank of Australia capital markets boss Graham Hand and director at financial adviser NW Advice Pty Ltd, Andrew Reeve-Parker.
Absolute Equity Performance is seeking to raise $75 million at $1.10 a share, with the ability to take up to another $25 million in oversubscriptions. If successful, it expects to be listed on December 16 according to the prospectus.