Long-Short Funds Swell in Size — But That’s Mostly About One Fund

Morningstar’s Josh Charlson has this interesting item on the rising assets of long-short mutual funds — it’s mostly about the big success of MainStay Marketfield fund (MFADX):

One reason for the category’s asset acceleration appears to be the supernova-like asset growth of a single fund – MainStay Marketfield (MFADX). The fund, which has a Morningstar Analyst Rating of Bronze, now consumes more than one third of the assets in the $57 billion long-short equity category. In 2013, it collected $13.4 billion to reach its current assets under management of $21 billion. The fund’s success–and it has unquestionably done well on a performance basis too–not only accounts for a significant portion of the category’s growth but has spurred others to enter the market in hope of riding MainStay Marketfield’s orbit.