Eclectica Asset Management, the UK-based fund manager, has launched two new long only funds focused on European equities. The Eclectica ...

Eclectica Asset Management, the UK-based fund manager, has launched two new long only funds focused on European equities. The Eclectica European fund, a fund of Pan-European equities, will be promoted predominantly to a European client base, while the Eclectica Continental European fund, a portfolio of Europe ex-UK equities, will be aimed at the UK retail market. Eclectica, which was launched last year, said the new portfolios will be populated with ideas that eschew market and index risk by allocating capital where it can buy something at the same price as prevailed 25 or 30 years ago. The two new funds will be run by Simon Batten and Hugh Hendry, previously of Odey Asset Management. Simon Batten, chief executive officer, Eclectica Asset Management, told WealthBriefing: “We have been running a global hedge fund that uses leverage for a long time, which is not everyone’s cup of tea. So we are offering alternatives in the form of funds with similar disciplines – with an absolute-return feel about it."