Of timing and catching a 'Rising Star'

A fund manager had targeted September 2018 as the launch date for his new fund. But due to operational issues, the fund wasn't ready to be launched then. As it turned out, that was a blessing in disguise. October was when the bottom came off the markets in Asia, and the December just past was the worst December in Wall Street since 1931. "What a lucky break he got!" a colleague and I both exclaimed when we found out. The expected new launch date for his fund is now February this year.

Does the timing of a fund's inception matter?

From a fund manager's perspective, there are pros and cons to launching a fund when the market is going through a rough patch and sentiment is fragile. The plus point is the fund will be starting near the bottom, which augurs well for its performance going forward. On the flip side, fund raising will be tough when there is heightened risk aversion in the market. It's normal for investors to be risk averse when the markets are depressed and volatile, even though that is the best time to be putting money to work.