Why no bollards in Barcelona?
All the more when Salafism, the “back to the roots” idea of resurrecting the Golden Age of Islam and the ideal Muslim society under the first four caliphs, is exceptionally strong in the city.
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – May 2014
In May, the Fund’s NAV jumped +13.23% and easily outperformed its salient benchmark by 205 basis points after the MSCI EME Index only rose by 11.17%. The Investment Advisor is pleased to report that in May 2014, the firm’s total assets under management (“AUM”) once again reached US$238 million, exactly…
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – March 2014
The “Crimea” Edition: “Russia and asset prices go South” In March, the Fund’s portfolio lost ground and NAV dropped 16.25%. However, for a geopolitical event of this magnitude, this result was painful but predictable – what else could be expected of a long-biased portfolio, constructed with a long-term view to…
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – February 2014
The “Shattered Hopes Edition: Russia gets even cheaper” In February, the Fund was able to outperform the continued collapse of the Russian stock market. While in January the RTS Index dropped 9.99% and the MSCI Russia Index tumbled 10.12%, February brought no relief. The RTS Index fell by another 2.59%…
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – May 2013
In May, the all-Russia RTS Index sold off another -3.67%, on the back of the overall continued emerging market and commodity weakness, amplified by the Russia and CIS-related storm caused by the unlawful expropriation of investor assets in Cyprus. As the Investment Advisor reported in previous months, although the Fund…
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – April 2013
In April, the Fund continued to be indirectly but significantly affected by the market storm caused by the unlawful expropriation of investor assets in Cyprus. Although the Fund had never had any bank accounts in Cyprus, the entire Russian and CIS equity market, along with the countries in the MSCI…
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – March 2013
In March, the Fund was indirectly but significantly affected by the market storm caused by the unlawful expropriation of investor assets in Cyprus. Although the Fund had never had any bank accounts in Cyprus, the entire Russian and CIS equity market, along with the countries in the MSCI EME Index,…
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – February 2013
In February, the Fund had a negative performance of -4.34%, although it was a significantly better result than that of a general “market” amidst the backdrop of a -6.14% free-fall of MSCI EME Index (its main comparative benchmark). Nevertheless, the Fund had generated a stellar +17.38% performance for the full…
Read MoreDiamond Age Russia Fund: Monthly Letter to Investors – December 2012
In December, the Fund turned in a stellar performance of +9.38%. The Fund’s portfolio outstripped by some 30% all the salient indices, such as MSCI EME Index, which only appreciated 6.76%, MSCI Russia Index, up just 6.50%, and the RTS Index, which showed even a more modest gain of 6.29%.…
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