Neptune Investment Management has launched a European long/short sector fund, in response to what the firm sees as “increasing demand for alternative investment strategies”.

The fund is managed jointly by Rob Burnett, investment director and head of European equities, and Ted Alexander, head of alternatives and fund manager of the Neptune global long/short sector fund. Burnett is responsible for the sector allocation of the fund, while Alexander executes this allocation.

The fund is designed to complement the Neptune global long/short sector fund in leveraging Neptune’s sector research, shorting sectors where the in-house view is bearish, and adding gearing on sectors expected to outperform.

The investment objective of the European fund is to generate capital growth in excess of the MSCI Europe (excluding UK) index, from a portfolio of securities from European equity markets. In order to achieve this objective, the firm says it intends to take full advantage of the ability to invest in derivatives, providing both long and synthetic short positions.

Earlier in the year, Neptune closed its UK Alpha Fund, after fund manager Nicola Muirhead's departure prompted a re-evaluation of the vehicle. Management of the fund was taken over by Alex Breese, head of UK equities.