Polar Capital weighs credit, environmental funds

By Elena Moya

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) - Fund boutique Polar Capital (POLR.L: Quote, Profile, Research) is considering the launch of a credit and an environmental fund this year, Chief Executive Mark Kary said on Friday.

The hedge fund manager posted a pretax profit of 14.5 million pounds ($28.79 million) in the 12 months to March 31, up 42 percent from 10.2 million pounds in the year-earlier period.

Polar Capital had $3.1 billion under management as of March 31, down 8.8 percent from the same time in 2007, the company said.

The asset manager said the currently challenging credit and equities environment offered investment opportunities. About two-thirds of the funds are invested in hedge funds, while the other third is in long-only funds, which do not take short positions that bet on the underlying asset losing value.

Six of the company's 10 funds were profitable last year, while two broke even and two lost money, Kary told Reuters in an interview.

"We are not especially optimistic for the equity markets, but the objective of a hedge fund is to make money in such difficult times," Kary said.

Some hedge funds, such as Centaurus, are expanding their focus on credit as banks are under pressure to offload bad loans, offering discounts. (Editing by Quentin Bryar)