MEET THAT RAREST of beings: the fund manager who had a good 2008. In the 12 months from February 28 2008 to the same date this year, Ballingal Investment Advisers’ Pacific Macro fund was up 27.7%. Its other fund, the Pacific Fund (distinguished from its sibling by a greater focus on equities), had a good year as well.
The performance of the fund is a salient lesson to the hedge fund industry. Ballingal Investment Advisers does not rely on excessive leverage or a view on a particular asset class. It generates returns through a deep knowledge of the multiple markets in which the fund operates.
When founder and chief investment officer Andrew Ballingal sits down opposite Euromoney in a meeting room in his firm’s modest Hong Kong offices, however, there’s little of the triumphalism that such a performance in a grim year for the hedge fund industry might justify. Ballingal is pleased with the results, but a tough start to 2009 in which both funds lost money (though in late April they were both up again) demonstrated what a difficult business delivering absolute returns can be.