Ann: Daily share buy-back notice - Appendix 3E, page-43

Peejay2, no offence taken. We all have our own perspective. But I suspect you are not going to have your pain relieved anytime soon. Maybe cut your losses and move elsewhere?

Shortly after reading your last post I read the latest (free) newsletter from John Mauldin (aka Maudlin). Coincidentally he stated that long/short funds are showing poor results because, in his opinion, the large move to passive ETFs is seeing everything, good and bad, being bought regardless. The end result is that the expected market differential between good and bad is not being realised as the bad is passively index weighted along with the good.

If that is true (and I have learnt to at least listen to what he says over more than 15 years of reading his letter every week) then at best ALF will hold its value in up OR down markets. So not much excitement for you to look forward to. Its OK for me, and hopefully quite a few others, as I am happy if ALF just holds its value so that it acts as an effective proxy for cash.

ALF has gone equal weighting long/short because management believe a correction is coming. They have thought so for about 3 years and been wrong so far. And they may be painfully wrong for a lot longer. But their approach currently fits my needs for an investment that will hold value during a correction because I am reasonably convinced a credit crunch is on the horizon.

To paraphrase John Howard, I am alert but not alarmed...