2009
What is an ‘absolute-return fund’?
Filed Under (Hot Stock Tips) by Admin on 15-03-2009
Filed under: Products and services, Personal finance
Dear Virginia:” I really really promise never, never to lose your money and I will only make money for you.” If you believe this, you belong with all the other gullible ones on Wall Street.
Nevertheless, this is Wall Street’s newest game. It’s called an absolute-return fund. Big names like Putnam Investments of Boston and Goldman Sachs Absolute Return Tracker Fund are some of the players. They are telling you: “Look we know that mutual funds take only long positions. We are going to change that. We are going to trade your money just like a hedge fund. So. we’ll go long some stocks and we’ll go short some stocks. Why, we are going to include the really wild movers like commodities, currencies, international investments, real estate, managed futures, cash, bonds, and assorted derivatives.” Yes, you heard that right: “assorted derivatives.”
I lump these zombies — 
Heading into the week’s end, we find that the ground under Wall Street has shifted a little. For at least one week this year, investors have looked at the glass as half full, lending some support to a story I posted earlier in the week: 
