Standard Life Investments’ £50 billion Global Absolute Return Strategies, the UK’s single-biggest investment fund, made a rare loss last year, so 2017 is a critical year for fund manager Guy Stern and his team.

Since inception in 2006, the fund has delivered 6.6% a year - that’s 0.5% a year behind its target, of cash returns plus 5% a year. That’s due to two years of underperformance, including a 2% slide in 2016.