In November, the Fund had a slightly negative performance of 1.76%, although it did outperform, by a notch, the “pure Russia” indices, such as MICEX, which dropped 1.92%. Nevertheless, the Fund’s constructive portfolio stance lead to very significant positive gains in the first weeks of December, beyond the scope of this November reporting period (to be reported and described in detail in the December Letter to Investors).
Apart from the constructive portfolio stance (strong “long bias”), the Fund continues to maintain small but very targeted short positions (5% of the portfolio). In addition to a significant gain on a tactical Rosneft trade, which was explained in greater detail in the September and October 2012 Letters to Investors, the Fund generated a solid +26% return on its Samsung position since its acquisition in June/July through the end of November (+35% through mid-December).