Please list a few managed bear funds (e.g. prudentbear.com) or inverse
index (short) mutual funds (e.g. rydexfunds.com) based in Australia.
They could managed ASX or NYSE equities (it's irrelevant) but more
importantly I'm NOT interested in foreign based bear funds. Thank you.

---

Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 06 Apr 2003 09:49 PDT

Whizhost --

Would you also like to include "long short" hedge funds as well?

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

---

Clarification of Question by whizhost-ga on 06 Apr 2003 10:04 PDT

Omnivorous,

Sorry, I'm only interested in *pure* managed bear funds or inverse
index mutual funds. Australia is the most affluent country in the
southern hemisphere and there are over 5,000 locally managed funds.
I'm positive at least one of them will suit my purpose.

---

Request for Question Clarification by omnivorous-ga on 06 Apr 2003 10:37 PDT

Whizhost --

According to Morningstar, there are actually more than 6,000
Australian mutual funds but you're in the right ballpark.  I'm very
familiar with PrudentBear and the three Rydex short funds (Arktos,
Ursa and Juno) but so far have found no AUS-managed bear funds.  There
are at least 7 "long short" funds, though about half of them seem to
be using a portfolio of other hedge funds.

I've sent a message to a friend who's a mutual fund manager and have a
couple of other places to look.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA

---

Clarification of Question by whizhost-ga on 07 Apr 2003 12:13 PDT

Interesting...more than 6,000 Australian mutual funds although nobody
here can help me out...

Whizhost --

That it's difficult (or even impossible) to find a bear or inverse
index fund based in Australia is not surprising.  Only recently have
"hedge" funds (which take a variety of forms, including 'short long'
funds) gained in use, as this article notes:
http://www.aima.org/aimasite/articles/Dec02/BDW.pdf

The government tends to discourage 'risky' investments for pensions
and trusts.  Even hedging strategies have had some difficulty gaining
acceptance, despite the wide varieties of 'hedges,' including many
aimed at reducing volatility or risk.

I know that at least two experienced researchers have looked at this
question in detail and come up empty handed.

Best regards,

Omnivorous-GA