Spring 2000 wasn't the best time to take the reins of a European fund. The world's technology-fuelled stock markets had begun to sputter, the nascent euro was diving and the Continent's global economic standing seemed shakier than ever.

But Christopher Hohn, the manager of London's new, $100m Perry Capital European Fund, stood out in the dreary environment by posting gains of more than 22% in 2000, about 17 percentage points better than the average European event-driven fund.