London-headquartered fund manager Gartmore has launched a Japan absolute return fund - a UCITS III onshore version of the AlphaGen Hokuto, a Japan equity long/short strategy.  

The fund aims to achieve a positive absolute return over the long term regardless of market conditions by taking long and short positions primarily in equities or equity-related derivative contracts of companies having their registered office in Japan.

Long positions may be held through a combination of direct investment and/or derivative instruments; short positions will be held through derivative positions, primarily equity swaps and futures.

The focus is to be on larger companies, typically those with over ¥100 billion (about $1 billion) market capitalisation. The fund is expected to be well diversified at both sector and stock level, with typically around 100 names in the portfolio and the largest position size usually under 5 per cent, the firm said in a statement. 

The portfolio is expected to be evenly split between a combination of longer term strategic and more opportunistic, tactical positions.