Early 2008 certainly was not the best of times to be starting a mutual fund, so the past few years have been a trial by fire for Alan Radlo, chief investment officer at Boston-based Cambridge Advisors, and manager of the CI Cambridge Canadian Asset Allocation Corporate Class since its inception. But the fund has managed relatively well, thanks in large part to a hefty 16.6% return for the one-year period ended August 31, 2011. And with co-manager Bob Swanson now on board to manage the fund’s fixed-income component, Radlo expects growing returns in future.

The Canadian Investment Funds Standards Committee (CIFSC) defines Alternative Strategies funds as those employing “short selling or other forms of leverage” in “speculative strategies as well as hedging strategies.” The PH&N Absolute Return Fund does all of the above, and has done so with low volatility and a modest MER for the past five years.