Matrix New Europe fund closed after one year
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The Matrix New Europe Ucits fund has been forced to close less than one year after launch following a failure to reach “critical mass”.
The $13m (£8.3m) long/short equity vehicle was launched in June 2011 for fund manager David Thornton, designed to mirror the long-standing hedge fund of the same name. The Dublin-domiciled fund was Matrix’s third Ucits vehicle.
However, the most recent addition to the group’s Ucits range was pulled from the Irish Stock Exchange last week. The group later confirmed through a spokesperson that it had been forced to close after failing to reach “critical mass”.
Specialising in central and eastern European-listed companies, Thornton was more heavily weighted towards Russia and Turkey at the start of the year. Accounting for 65% of the portfolio, Russia represented the dominant geographical allocation.
In the weeks beforehand, Thornton was reported to have increased the portfolio’s exposure to Turkey, from zero to 25%, reflecting that it represented a “stronger story” to Russia. A number of holdings in Poland were sold in order to increase the position in Turkey.
Matrix did not comment further on the closure, only confirming that it had failed to reach ’projected targets’ and had been closed as a consequence.
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