Christopher Mahon: Since Fund Inception in March 2013
e-fundresearch.com: What is the current size of the fund?
Christopher Mahon: US$ 25.745.185 (30th June 2013)
e-fundresearch.com: Do you also manage other funds or mandates? What is the total amount of assets you manage currently?
Christopher Mahon: Yes. I work as part of a team that looks after approximately £8bn of client assets spread across a number of mandates.
e-fundresearch.com: How long have you been in the business as a fund manager?
Christopher Mahon: In 1999 I started work in finance. Initially I worked as an advisor to private equity firms helping them find and value potential acquisitions, and develop their strategy for growing those businesses. This long term valuation driven philosophy informs my approach to fund management, which I started in in 2004.
e-fundresearch.com: What are the main steps in your investment process and in which area is your competitive edge to add value to investors?
Christopher Mahon: Our process separates our economic view from our valuation work. For the economic view we assess whereabouts in the cycle the major countries are. This is important as the economic cycle drives the profitability cycle of corporates. Once this assessment is made, we try to deduce whether this is priced into the market, and therefore whether a trade would be worth the risk.
The success or failure of our strategy is based on asset allocation – being in the right markets at the right time, and retreating to a more defensive poise when risk levels are elevated. Our emphasis on transparency, liquidity and avoiding leverage makes our portfolio very appealing to investors. e-fundresearch.com: Which benchmark is most relevant and how should investors compare the fund vs. benchmarks or peer groups?
Christopher Mahon: We aim to give equity like returns with less risk. As a performance objective we translate this into targeting Euribor +3%. Our approach means we tend to underperform in up markets, but more than make up for this in down markets. Since launch we compare very strongly against many competitors.
e-fundresearch.com: Which performance did you achieve for the fund YTD and over the past five calendar years in absolute terms and relative to relevant benchmark or other reference indices?
Christopher Mahon: As our Baring Euro Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund is launched in March 2013, please find below the Track Record for our Baring Dynamic Asset Allocation Fund.
Christopher Mahon: Financial markets are always fascinating. Never are two days the same. This is what I enjoy in my job.
e-fundresearch.com: Which other profession would you have considered apart from becoming a fund manager?
Christopher Mahon: A have a ceramic studio in my flat in London, with my own kiln. If I hadn’t been a fund manager, perhaps I would have been a potter.