Trouncing his rivals -- Irish bonds investor Hasenstab
THE US investor who placed a huge punt on Ireland is outperforming 98pc of rivals, according to new research by Bloomberg.
California-based Michael Hasenstab and the Franklin Templeton firm where he manages investment funds shot to fame here after it was revealed they have invested €4bn in Irish government bonds.
Research from Bloomberg shows one of the funds they used to buy the Irish bonds, the Templeton Global Bond Fund, now ranks among the top-performing fixed-income funds.
The €43bn fund is run by Michael Hasenstab and Sonal Desai. Its investments are up 7.3pc so far this year, beating almost every other fund in the US. It's a turnaround after nervous investors pulled cash out of the same fund last year in reaction to trading losses.
Rivals
The fund has returned 10.6pc a year over the past five years, beating 98pc of rivals, according to the Bloomberg research.
The performance of investment funds is closely watched in the US market, because it is how tens of thousands of families invest their savings.
US newspapers and investor magazines track fund performance relentlessly. Savers are quick to pull cash out when fund managers fall behind.
Research firm Morningstar said investors pulled €1.3bn out of the fund in November and December in reaction to losses, the first withdrawals since November 2008.
Those losses highlight the risks associated with making large investments in volatile assets and situations.
(Additional reporting Bloomberg)
- Donal O'Donovan
Irish Independent
