By Ivan Anderzhanov in Moscow
A five-year-old Russian chimpanzee has beaten 94 per cent of the country’s investment funds with her investment portfolio.
The circus performer Lusha stunned seasoned stock-pickers after her eight stock selections soared by 300% over the past year.
A Moscow sell-side source quipped that local investment houses would fight tooth and tail to avail of Lusha’s services. “Most of the local fund managers are pretty useless and firms could do a lot worse than hiring a monkey,” said the wag. “They could save on bonuses too by paying her peanuts or bananas.”
Lusha punted for eight blocks from a possible 30 with the words “banking” and “automotive industry” but avoided “telecoms”, which would have garnered additional gains.
The top chimp’s portfolio included the ordinary shares of Lukoil, Gazprom Neft, Polyus Gold, AvtoVAZ and Rosneft, as well as the preferred securities of Sberbank, Surgutneftegaz and Uralsvyazinform.
